Courageous Ed
by Rayzor14
Summary: Eddy recieves a very strange dog for his birthday. He soon finds out that the dog's past and even future are coming back to haunt him and the cul-de-sac.
1. Prologue 1

**Author's Notes: **Hello, people of FF! Been in a writing mood lately and decided to post this story. But please note that this is a _side project. _Meaning that you shouldn't be surprised if it goes months at a time without an update. Anyway, please, enjoy and please review!

Courageous Ed

Chapter 1: All I want for my Birthday…

Dawn rose over the horizon and crept between the blinds, casting their brilliant rays upon the sleeping figure of a young boy. Drool rolled down his cheeks and sleep caked his eyelids shut, ignoring the sun's harsh light. He tossed gently in his large circular bed in his wife-beater, muttering quotes of various aliases for the word money. Suddenly, the alarm blared, ringing so violently it defied gravity and actually lifted itself up into the air. A hand instantly slammed upon it, sending it back down onto the nightstand. The boy was now completely upright, drool mysteriously gone along with his sleep, a large grin framing his face.

"Finally, I thought this day would never get here!" the small boy exclaimed

He then jumped out of bed and raced into the door that led to his shower. The sound of the faucet turning, water running, draining, brushing, spitting, and flushing all blended together into an indistinguishable blur inside of a handful of seconds. When he emerged from the wash room, he was dressed in what was known to his peers as his signature attire of a yellow bowling shirt with a red strip down the right side with well-worn blue pants and rather plain red shoes. He combed his three strand of hair backwards with his hand and turned smugly to the mirror. Jumping onto a chair so he'd be level with looking glass, he started one of infamous pep-talks…with himself.

"Who's turning the big one-three today?" he asked to his reflection "You are; that's who!"

"No more pre-teen for this guy! Cause now, it's all about me, as usual." His reflection mimicked his conceited actions.

He then jumped down from his chair and swaggered towards the door.

"Today's gonna be great." He quoted as he closed the door behind himself

CCC

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EDDY!" the duo of Edd and Ed shouted

Ed blew a party favor, letting out a weak raspberry as Edd threw out a handful of colorful confetti. Eddy looked at the attempt of a festive display with dull and bored eyes, but he thankfully, nonetheless. Seeing as how his constant scams on the neighboring kids had made him into a social pariah, he was glad to have his two friends with him on such an important day. That didn't mean he had to show, though.

"Congratulations on another full year of life, Eddy. May you have many more filled with equal or greater joy." Double D said thoughtfully

"Yeah and filled with gravy too." Ed blurted out happily

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Where's the presents!" Eddy asked greedily

Indeed, if there was one thing the small boy liked just as much as money, it was presents. Even the small piles of gifts in front of him made his mouth water, mind wilder than a lion on the savanna. He reached out for the nearest gift, which was wrapped sloppily in green paper and tied together with multiple rows of clear tap wrapped around each other. Tearing through the paper with frantic pace, his face became crestfallen when he beheld a small, red thermometer.

"That's mine!" Ed shouted happily "My mom said it was first rectal thermometer from when I was a baby."

Upon hearing the word 'rectal', both he and Edd broke out into a panic as he dropped the medical instructment onto the floor. Rubbing his hand fiercely on his shirt and then the table when he realized what he had just rubbed on his shirt. He quickly moved on to the next gift, which was wrapped neatly in purple and adorned with white ribbon tied into a perfect bow. He tore through the colorful wrapping with near animalistic hunger and then beheld what was inside.

"What the heck is this?" Eddy asked as he held up a complex contraption

"That's a Mathlete, Eddy. It's rather wondrous device containing an abacus, calculator, protractor, sextant, and even a built-in pencil sharpener!" the smart lad explained, simply giddy with excitement.

Eddy glanced at the object in his hand before unceremoniously chucking the thing over his shoulder and into the trash can. Double D became frantic as he rushed towards the disposal to retrieve the object as Eddy unwrapped another present. He groaned audibly when gazed at the contents of the gift: a pair of socks. He tossed the box at his tall friend, who caught it with his face. He opened the next, a buttoned up vest, and tossed it into Ed's already damaged face. These were obviously gifts from his parents, seeing as they never got him anything he wanted but everything he needed. Then, a particular gift caught his eye. It was wrapped in peculiar pink and green striped wrapping with a fancy red ribbon around the top. It also had a tag attached to it, which only made it more enticing. So, being curious, he reached out and yanked at the tab.

'Dear nephew, for your special day, I think you need a special gift. Please, take extra care of this gift as I'm sure it'll bring you good luck and great times. From your Aunt Muriel'

Eddy blinked a few times as he read the tab, an ominous feeling creeping into his mind. Shaking off the strange sensation, he quickly opened the box, which had holes poked through its lid and reached deep inside. What he pulled out left the trio speechless. It was a dog with oddly pink fur with a large spot on their back with a purple collar with a name tag. A dog…which had been sent by his Aunt…as a gift…for his thirteenth birthday. Eddy stared into the dog's eyes, who stared back at him. The dog gave the boy a warm smile to which Eddy responded with a quirked brow.

"Cool! A pink dirt beast!" Ed hollered

"I think you mean to say dog, Ed. And yes, it certainly is unusual to find a dog with such a strange fur coat." Double D mused to himself

"Yeah, that's great and all, but mind explaining why my aunt sent me a dog? A…" he looked the dog hard "boy dog named…" he gripped the name tag between his figures "Courage?"

He looked at the round piece of metal for several more seconds before he finally sat the dog down. He stared up at the short Ed, which wasn't very far, and smiled once more and wagged his stub of a tail. Eddy's expression, however, was one of irritation.

"So what the heck am I suppose to do with this guy?" Eddy asked to his two companions

"Beats the heck outta me, Eddy." Ed shrugged happily

"I think some time to get to know Courage would be the best course of action." Double D said as he escorted Ed and himself towards the door.

"Hey, wait! What about the scam?" Eddy asked

"Not to worry, Eddy. We'll be ready and waiting whenever you're done." Edd said and closed the door.

The entire room went silent. With his parents gone off to work, the only ones in the house were the dog and himself. For a while the two just started at each other, waiting for some sort of reaction from the other. Eddy was the one to break the silence and moved towards the box the dog had arrived in; rummaging through the cardboard cube in search of something else that might be hidden inside. What he found was a small, yellow, red, and purple yo-yo. The boy played with the whimsical toy for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the dog, which looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Okay, I'll bite. Whaddaya you want?" the boy asked

The dog placed a paw on his stomach, which growled noisily, and whined helplessly. Eddy groaned and walked over to the cupboards, searching through the oak selves for something to satisfy his new dog's hunger. Pushing aside the various nauseating cans of vegetables his parents insisted on buying, he finally wrapped his fingers around the cold steel of a certain can. Pulling it out, he blew off the accumulated dust and brushed the remaining away to reveal the colorful label of a dog giving a thumbs up and eating a spoonful of dog food. Digging through the drawer, he produced a can opener and a bowl, followed by letting the mush drop sickeningly slow into a wet mass into said dish.

"Eat up." He said and chucked the tin can into the garbage.

Maybe it was the fact that he was still working off the adrenaline of it being his birthday or maybe it was that he was simply too bored to notice, but either way he had forgotten that this particular can of food was from when he had own a puppy…over ten years ago. The mush was _far _pasted its expiration date and had already started to attract flies, which were dying upon contact. Courage looked at the pile of food curiously before taking a sniff, gripping his nose and resisting the urge to regurgitate whatever was left in his system as a result of his repulsiveness.

"Got any dry food?" a voice asked

"I dunno. My folks don't take to me to the store that-"Eddy stopped what he was doing, which was toying around with the yo-yo, and turned around.

The boy swiveled his head from side-to-side rapidly, looking for the source of the voice.

"Who said that?" Eddy asked

"Um…I did." The voice said, coming from the small dog on the floor

For a moment, time seemed to slow down and every possible thought about the current object of attention flashed through Eddy's vain skull. The dog just talked. The dog…just talked. The pink dog named Courage, who was sent by his Aunt who he'd only seen a handful of times, just talked. After repeatedly repeating the statement in sundry forms in his head, time resumed and the boy freaked out, rocketing from his seat to the ceiling. His head impacted the pale colored paint and cracked it in several places before falling back down to his seat.

"YOU CAN TALK!" Eddy hollered incredulously as he stated the question

"Of course I can talk or my name's Aloysius…And it's not." He replied

"But you're a dog! Dogs don't talk! They drool and chase mailmen and drink outta the toilet!"

"Hey, I'll have you know toilet water is a lot cleaner than tap." Courage rebutted

Hearing that little tidbit of news, he wrung out his tongue as tight as he could. Afterwards, he grabbed the dog and headed out the door and towards Edd's house.

Edd wiped a beat of sweat from his forehead and stepped back to observe the fruits of his morning labor. Eddy was known to be quite demanding and spontaneous when it came to his scams, so when he had asked him to design a 'Triple E Megalomatic Washer', he simply went straight to work. It had taken quite a bit of looking before he had managed to find the parts needed and had Ed lug it all back to his suburban dwelling. Multiple chutes sucked in air at twister velocity as a crudely improvised tube ran underground and to the pond in Ed's back yard. Powered and liquid cleaning agents were held inside large jugs that were connects to hoses that ran to the machine, which gleamed pure white in the sunlight in the form of an over-sized washing machine.

Next to it was a slightly smaller, dull blue dryer with a giant fan standing in place for the back of the cleaning machine. For what it was worth, the two were both some of his best work. It almost pained him to think that these two marvels of ingenuity would be destroyed soon after use, most likely by the loveable oaf that had helped build it. It was as he was admiring the beauty of it that Eddy came running, clutching Courage and looking practically hysterical.

"Eddy, what's wrong? Are either of you hurt?" Double D asked

"Guys, you'll never believe this!" Eddy screamed

"I don't believe it." Ed said absentmindedly

The short boy held the pink dog high in the air "THIS DOG CAN TALK!" he shouted

Of course, all he received in respond was silence from both his friends and the dog. He gripped the dog tightly and shook him back and forth, yelling "Talk! Talk, you stupid dog!"

"Eddy please!" Edd said as he grabbed his friend's arms "You'll hurt the poor canine."

"This dog can talk! Watch!" the hysterical Ed claimed and sat the dog on the ground "Go ahead. Speak."

"Did you really have shake me like tha-"Courage started

Double D and Ed both gave a bemused quirk of the head as they listened to the dog bark out gibberish, which Eddy seemed to understand.

"-and then call me a stupid dog?"

"Hey, I wouldn't have done it if you'd have just talked." Eddy said back bitterly

"Um…Eddy? I don't mean to sound rude but-"

"We can't understand 'im, Eddy!" Ed blurted stupidly

"What? He's talking clear as Ed's head. How can you _not _understand him?" Eddy asked loudly

"We're sorry Eddy, but all we hear is a dog barking. Maybe you should lie down and get some rest? I'm sure all the adrenaline from the excitement of today has simply caused you to hallucinate." Edd reasoned

Eddy growled and snatched Courage from the ground. Turning his back to his friends, his eyes fell upon a boy carrying around a piece of 2x4. The boy with the fuzz covered cranium was known locally as the 'Nature boy' and as such had a knowledge of the particularly weird. He ran towards him screaming "Hey, Johnny!"with Courage in his outstretched arms. However, in his hurried frenzy, he failed to notice the soap foam that had been so carelessly overlooked on the ground.

"Eddy! Look out!" Edd hollered

But alas, it was too late. The birthday boy had stepped on the soap and slid wildly fast towards one of the chutes, which had been conveniently placed in front of him. There was nothing he could do to stop his inevitable collision and the pain that was sure to follow, but luckily for Courage, Eddy had thrown up his arms as they collided with the chute leaving him outside. The chute sucked in the poor boy and the three looked on as his body dented and left large full body imprints in the flimsy metal. He was then dropped into the washer, which churned uproariously as cleaning agents were pumped into it. The small Ed was then ejected into the dryer, being thrown about like a ragdoll before the circular door opened and released him.

Ed, Edd, and Courage looked at the now blown dried Eddy, hair looped and curled and clothes slightly damp. His expression was one of bewilderment and shock, which were validated as the entire structure behind him gave way and crumbled to the ground into nothing. Edd opened his mouth to say something to console his friend but Eddy beat him to the punch and grabbed his dog.

"Don't…say…anything." He said in a serious tone and marched off towards his home.

CCC

Night had fallen quickly and Eddy had chosen to spend the remainder of his supposed 'special day' in bed, under his sheets in peaceful solitude. He had dimmed his lava lamp to just the right shade and was preparing to drift off into sleep when suddenly a familiar whining caught his attention. He attempted to ignore it, but conceded after ten straight minutes of the incessant noise.

"What?" he growled impatiently over his bed

Below, Courage was sitting in his bed which Eddy had hastily laid down as newspaper. It was no real surprise that he was a bit cold.

"Can I?" Courage asked sweetly

"…Fine, whatever. Just don't go hogging the bed." Eddy warned

The pink dog smiled and leapt onto the circular mattress, pacing in place a few times below settling at the foot of the bed. Eddy, seeing the dog take a place, turned on his side and fell asleep. Courage, too, was tired and closed his eyes, enjoying the most peaceful sleep he'd had in weeks.

**Author's Notes: **Yep, this is going to be an Eddy centric story. Also, I'm sure people are wondering why I put Courage with Eddy. Its simple: Eddy is the one least likely to have a pet and even less likely to actually enjoy having one. But he's also the one who'd benefit the most from having Courage. My Reasons: if Ed got Courage, he'd probably just hug him to death and if Double D got him, there wouldn't really be room for character development. Eddy, however, has so many vices that developing his character is easy and fun. Plus, I just think Courage and Eddy just go together. Anyway, remember that this is a side project and that updates will be sporadic. TTFN!


	2. Prologue 2

Courageous Ed

Chapter 2: The Care and Feeding of Cowardly Dogs

Bright, blinding beams of sunlight flooded through closed blinds, birds chirped melodiously as the smell of exhaust permeated the air. Dogs barked from their kennels and squirrels busily searched for their daily nuts while street lamps silently flickered off, awaiting for dusk. The sounds of quiet chatter as children slowly began their day echoed in the humble suburban cul-de-sac.

"Hey."

Eddy attempted to ignore the voice and go back to sleep, but he for some reason, he was compelled to open his tired eyes and respond.

"What?" he asked, voice filled with aggravation

"Aren't cha gonna get up? It's already eight-thirty." the fuchsia canine asked

Now, Courage was a creature of habit. A routine had been etched into his very being, one which started at dawn and ended late at night. Because of this, he woke up as soon as the sun did and then waited for his new master awake as well. When this didn't happen for almost three hours, he decided to wake him himself. What he hadn't thought of was how his new, _thirteen _year old master would react to the early morning wake up call.

"EIGHT-THIRTY!" Eddy yelled at the top of his already hard working lungs "Are you postal? The only people up this early are sock-head and my folks!"

The sound of twin motors filtered through his room, fading as they zoomed from the suburban dwellings "And there they go."

Eddy sighed, his anger miraculously spent as he plopped back onto his circular bed. Courage quirked his head and climbed onto the small boy's chest, which, miraculously, he didn't mind either.

"What's wrong?" It seemed like such a simple question but for the dog, he'd learned from countless experiences that such a question rarely had a simple answer.

Eddy said nothing, choosing to lie on his back and stare out the window. For whatever reason, he didn't feel like he wanted to scream and shout like he normally would or pass off the question with a nonchalant rebuttal. He honestly just didn't want to talk about it. Finally, after a peaceful silence, Eddy got out of bed with a smile.

"C'mon dog!" he ordered, beaming cheerfully "Let's go eat."

His ears perked up at the word 'eat' and leapt from the bed to the floor, following after his master.

CCC

In the kitchen, Courage sat comfortably in one of the four chairs at the table and watched as his new master prepared, rather messily, breakfast. The lad was definitely chipper than he had been just a few short minutes ago. The smile never left his face as flipped, sautéed, buttered, and dash about the room, gathering various ingredients needed for their meal.

"You haven't lived until you try one of my omelets!" he boasted proudly, propping his tall chef's hat with his free hand

Courage humored him with a nod before glancing at his working area. To say it was a mess would've been an understatement. It was an utter disaster! Condiments of sundry hues were splayed all about, broken egg shells and unused whites plastered the stove and drying bits of molten cheese stained everywhere the pervious didn't. By the time the Ed finished, that stove was going to be in desperate need of a very, _very _thorough wash down.

"Dig in!" Eddy proclaimed as he set down two plates and started to comp down on his creation.

Courage briefly looked down at the plate before digging the fork into its crisp layer and taking a bite. The moment it hit his tongue, his years of culinary critique came into play. His face scrunched into a questioning scowl then a delighted smirk and finally and contented indifference. The display haven't been lost on the short teen, who stopped his frenzied eating and stared at the canine.

"Somethin' wrong?" he asked, quirking a brow

"It's not bad, _much _better than the dog food but still…it's just average. I wouldn't say I haven't lived without but it's still pretty good for a beginner." Courage explained before taking another bite

Eddy's face was incredulous. The dog who he so selflessly let into his home, gave a bed, and fed him had the nerve to criticize _his _food! That mutt wouldn't know taste if it came and bit him in his flea-bitten butt! Of course, Eddy only thought this, the same strange feeling from before keeping him from voicing his displeasure. So, the rest of breakfast was done in silence, the clinking of forks-on-plates all that was heard.

When they were finished, Eddy set about cleaning the plates. Once again, the dog gave his two cents.

"Shouldn't you be wearing gloves?" he asked, looking over the corner.

"It's just some plates." Eddy said back unusually calm

"What about the water? Shouldn't it be warmer? Or have more soap?" Courage found himself wondering why he was being so critical, especially towards his new master

"It's _fine_." Eddy mustered an annoyed frown before that was all his body would allow, keeping him in that same annoying calm.

Courage continued to watch Eddy, both wondering why they were acting so strangely. When the dishes were done, Eddy took a shower, got dressed, and went back downstairs where Courage was waiting with a rather bored look on his face. He mindlessly flicked through the channels, finding nothing even remotely fascinating on at the moment.

"Where're you going?" Courage inquired

"Out. See what the guys are doing." Eddy responded

"Can I come?" Courage asked cheerfully

Eddy didn't even have a chance to consider it before the word "Sure." left his mouth. The happily jumped from the couch and when to his master's room. When he returned, he was carrying a leash, wagging his stub of a tail back and forward happily. Eddy simply reached down and attached his leash to his collar and they went out the door.

CCC

"Come in." Double D's voice came as a knock echoed from his door

Eddy and Courage walked into a room that was almost unrecognizable as the smart Ed's. There were clothes hanging off the bed, shoes were arranged in sloppy unorganization and a label was nowhere to seen. The room was far from Ed's standard of messy but it was still nonetheless. Eddy gave his friend, who was hunched over his desk, a worried look. He hadn't snapped again, had he?

Double D raised his head and glanced at his friend, looking remarking…calm. The lad's face was the same as it had been whenever he was working on a project or when he reading: calm as water. Eddy's face gave a flash of shock at this, the first real expression he'd been able to make all morning.

"Oh, Eddy. It's you.' Double D said and swiveled back to his desk. "Is there something you want?"

Eddy blinked once, then twice, and then spoke. "What're you doing?"

"Just sketching out a few designs for a new ant farm." his voice sounded quite dull calm "Is there going to be a scam today?"

"…Nah, I don't feel like it today." Eddy nearly fainted in disbelief that the phrase came out of his mouth. To say that was like saying that a bird didn't want to fly or that a fish didn't want to swim. Scamming was his life blood! The thing he got out of bed for! How could he NOT want to scam?

"Alright then. If you'll excuse me, I have work to get back to." he said and dismissingly waved them off

"He seems nice.' Courage said as they left the boy's house

Eddy said nothing, his mind still trying to process what had just happened. Sock-head never kept his room that dirty. It had taken him months to get use to Ed's room but the mere sight of that should've caused him to go into shock or something. Things only got weirder when they reached Ed's house.

"Aw, what a cute doggy." Jimmy said and petted Courage's head softly

"Mmm…yeah…that's the spot…a little to the left…" Courage grumbled happily under his voice which translated into growls of content to his massager's ears.

"You're here to see Ed, right?" Sarah's tone even and strangely…soothing.

"Yeah." Eddy was starting to think that something wasn't right around here "You seen him?"

Sarah jabbed a thumb behind her, signaling that the one he was seeking was downstairs. Leaving Courage in the capable hands of his masseur, he made his way downstairs. When he reached the sole room, he knocked and heard an affirming call from its inhabitant. The sight inside was the most bizarre thing he'd ever seen in his life: Ed's room was clean.

Well, cleaner than Double D's room, which was saying something. And sitting in the newly refurnished chair was Ed, reading a hardback. Eddy's jaw must've hit the floor because Ed gave his short friend a questioning look.

"You alright, Eddy?" Ed asked, adjusting his glasses

"…Y-yeah. Um, whatcha been up to?" Eddy was feeling quite scared now

"Oh, just tiding up a little and decided to read some _To Kill A Mocking Bird_." his reply was remarkably sophisticated

"…O-okay. I-I'm…I'm just gunna go." Eddy said before retreating upstairs

Retreating upstairs, he quickly retrieved Courage, none to happy about being yanked from the hands of the talented boy, and raced outside.

CCC

Eddy panted, gasping for air outside the tall Ed's house. Something was wrong. _Way _wrong. First he can't get mad, then Double D's room's messy, and now Ed's room clean and he's smart? Uh uh. There was something rotten going on and he was going to find out what-

"Aw, too cute, dude!"

-right after he got through with the girl of his dreams. The blond haired beauty had long since been the object of his and every other boy's affections and any advances towards her were usually lost. But now, she came to him, rubbing Courage's chin not nearly as expertly as Jimmy but still soothing.

"Is he yours?" Nazz asked, smiling at Eddy

"Um, um, uh, y-yeah! I got him for my birthday yesterday." Eddy's face was starting to express more emotion as seen by the furious blush spreading across his face.

"Really? Man, I totally forgot!" she slapped her forehead in frustration "Well, I know it isn't much but take this as a late birthday present."

What she did next nearly sent him into cardiac arrest. She kissed him. The brief meeting of her lips and his cheek was had set off fireworks in his nervous system as it was overwhelmed with pleasure. The red on his face encompassed his entire face and he found himself standing completely still, even after the girl waved good-bye and left.

"Are you okay?" Courage asked

Eddy said nothing but started walking once more. Courage easily put two and two together and realized that the boy was simply overcome with bliss. He smiled. The same bliss he often felt whenever he was after to help his previous mistress with whatever task or errand she requested. He'd find himself overjoyed at knowing that it was a job well done. Simply thinking about it sent him, too, into a blissful state as he trudge forward.

Eddy's mind was gone, still in high heaven over the peck on the cheek.

_eddy._

Slowly, his mind started to reactivate, putting back in tune with his surroundings.

"_Eddy."_

Soon, the nerves in his system were fully reattached and he shock his head loose of bliss's soothing grip.

"Eddy!" Courage shouted

"What?" Eddy said irritably, relieved that he could feel irritable again

"Do you have any idea where we are?" the fuchsia dog asked

Eddy opened his mouth to rebut, but nothing came out. He had absolutely no idea where they were and, even worse, the sun had set and they now in the dark.

CCC

"Where are we! How'd we get here! When'd we get here!" Eddy found himself panicking and gripping his head, completely lost and penniless

"Calm down! I'm sure we can get outta here as long as we don't panic." Courage shouted as he found himself slowly slipping from his rationally calm state of mind.

_HOOT._

Courage became a hypocrite of his own words as he and Eddy were sent running down a random path, scared witless. Eddy had lost any sense of the naggingly annoying calm he had earlier, replaced with an unknown crippling fear and terror while Courage was reacquainted with his old friend unwarranted paranoia. Eddy kept running and running…and running…and running…

The short boy looked down and he saw that his fleeting feet were no longer beneath him, but rather a flustered fuchsia dog carrying him with screaming like a deranged lunatic. Eddy was more surprised that the dog could actually pick him up that he didn't pay any heed to where they were going. From seemingly nowhere, a wooden shack came into view and before he knew otherwise, he was already inside it. Courage turned into a mad, pink blur as he grabbed boards from hammer space and proceeded to nail them to the already locked, chain it, weld it, and lock it once more with another comically oversized lock.

"…Where the heck do you keep this stuff?" Eddy asked as Courage started on the windows

"I really don't know myself, but you what they 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.'" Courage explained as he nailed in the tenth board

"Why would I be looking in horse's mouth? I'd rather stare at Ed's underwear…or at least his wall." Eddy was trying to find some sort of chair to lie in, finding the room incredibly bare.

Seeing no other alternative, he sat down in the strangely placed bean bag, allowing his body's shape to sink into its mass. Courage decided to join him, although he chose to lie on a beautiful woven rug. Once they were settled, the two found that the eerie silence was staring to pressure them and they decided that striking up conversation would be the best thing.

"So…you found this place pretty fast." Eddy started, curious about his new pet.

"Yeah, I'm always able to find these places, not that it really matters." Courage replied somberly, sinking his head into his arms.

"Why?"

"Because whatever's chasing me usually just barges right in with no problem."

As soon as his was mentioned, the duo looked towards the door, relieved that nothing had found itself inside thus far. Sighing in relief, they returned to their conversation.

"So, does this kinda thing happen to you a lot?" Eddy inquired

"A _lot_. It seems no matter what I do I always end up attracting these weird people, things, events, you name it! It's been like this ever since my parents were-" Courage held his tongue, finding himself unwilling to go any further.

"Since your parents what?" Eddy asked, now thoroughly enthralled

"…I…I-I don't wanna talk about it." the canine said and buried his head in his arms further

Eddy pouted and crossed his arms. Of course the dog would bait him with such an intriguing story only to let him flap in the wind about its contents. Eddy would've been furious and demanded that, as his new master, he tell him but he found himself unable to do it. He, after all, denied Courage an answer to a most simple answer that very morning so surly this was simply returning the favor.

The two continued in silence for but a brief few moments before an eeire whispering caught their attention. Their heads turned and nearly shot off their shoulders as the doorway was occupied by a glowing, incandescent figure, humming various shades of pink, blue, yellow, white, and green. Her crystal blue eyes begged for them to answer her as she whispered in that same unearthly whispering. Eddy and Courage's eyes promptly broke free of their sockets and multiplied in decreasing succession until they recoiled into their heads and they ran south, right through the stone fireplace.

All attempts to remain calm had left them and they suddenly found themselves in a field of trees, trucks twisted into wicked faces, glowing demonic orange eyes peering into their very souls as they laughed haughtily.

"Oh man, oh man! Where do we go? Where do we go?" Eddy shouted frantically as his short legs threw themselves into high gear

"That way! That way!" Courage shouted pointing towards a forked path.

The duo followed the predetermined path, only for Eddy to be struck by one of the hands of the trees, knocking him to the ground. Courage's mind, screaming at him to keep running, took a back seat to his morals as he backtracked and started dragging his now unconscious owner's body across the ground.

"_What do I do? What do I do?" _Courage thought as he dodged swiping clawed, branches as they attempted to impede his path.

Then, SLPASH! Every free part of his body was sent plummeting into cold, clear water. The water greatly resisting his moments, he struggled to reach the surface, his master's body simply acting as dead weight at the moment. A soft glow found itself at the pool and Courage stared up in shock to see the phantom lady from before…standing on the water. Screaming and sending a torment of bubbles, he suddenly burst from the water, flying like a missile and landed on the shore.

Courage wasted no time and broke out running once more, glancing back at the lady who was standing ghostly on the water's surface.

Then, his world went dark.

CCC

Eddy felt woozy. Or at least that's what he wished he felt like. The mix of pain, confusion, and a hint of annoy calmness stirred in time with his now pounding headache. His vision slowly restored itself, resolving into the phantom lady's face hovering above him. Eddy went to scream and run, but she placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered in a tone that was almost too beautiful to ignore.

_Relax._

Eddy was hesitate, but seeing Courage submit to it caused him to give in as well, a feeling of paramount fright still present in his chest. Slowly, however, the feeling of fear left and the phantom's face began to melt away. The bright glowing colors faded and glowing eyes dimmed to a soft gloss. Soon, gone was the eerie phantom woman, replaced by a rather spry looking woman.

Her manner of dress was similar to the phantom's, only she wore a long sleeved fuchsia shirt, blue bell bottoms, and green and yellow sandals, with a white headband with a floral rose at it's center. The woman's blue pools softened with relief, gently blowing on a lit incense. Eddy, his vision and mind now restored, recognized the woman as none other than Johnny's mother.

"What happened?" Eddy asked, cracking his bones

"I'm terribly sorry!" the woman said, casting her gaze to the ground "I'm really am!"

"For what?" Eddy's head was still faintly pulsing with the headache

"Oh, well it's a long story but I'll just skip to the point." the woman said "I'm an herbalist and as such, I like to experiment with home made remedies, ya know for headaches, stomach cramps, colds and stuff. Lately, I've been dabbling in incense, particularly those that help calm the nerves since, let's face it, working in Peach creek is a full-time test of tolerance."

Eddy blushed, knowing full well she was referring to the constant mischief that his scams often created, which usually caused monumental property damage and had to come out of the adults already strapped wallets.

"Anyway, today, I was testing my latest batch of incense which I call 'Mellow Drama' since, ya know, it makes people 'mellow' out and stops drama. But, unfortunately, I didn't know it's own strength and even with me all the way in the forest, it still managed to get to the cul-de-sac. I'm pretty sure you must've been felling the effects pretty early." she explained

Eddy suddenly realized how much sense the woman's story was making: Edd's a neat-freak and a paranoid genius so when it got him, his neurotic tendencies were soothed and he had no need to keep up with his strict daily rituals. Ed, on the other hand, was led almost exclusively by his fantasy world that left him pretty delusional about his surrounding environment, which was corrected when his nerves were calmed, leading to him to actually using some of his brain power and clean his room.

"Then why the heck did we start freakin' out when we got here?" Eddy asked

"Well, that's the thing: far away it simply calms nerves, but up close and it amplifies emotions. So when you started feeling scared, the Mellow Drama just amplified it, which caused you to pretty much delude your surroundings into figments of your imagination. Which is why you left screaming the moment I walked in on you in my cabin that now needs another fireplace."

Once again, Eddy found himself thoroughly embarrassed by his actions and he found himself rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it, just another drop in the bucket. And the incense'll wear soon. So why don't I show you two back to the cul-de-sac so you can get some sleep? I'm pretty sure you had a tiring day." Johnny's mother said with a smile.

The duo nodded and, sure enough, they found themselves in the cul-de-sac just moments later (turns out they were closer to home than they realized). They gave Ms. 2x4 a quick good-bye and made their way for Eddy's house. The short Eddy quickly dressed for bed and suddenly the dog sleeping on the covers, right next to where he was to lie. His anger was back in full force but he simply sighed and got in bed, too tired to start a fight at this hour.

"_Good Lord!"_

"_Ed!"_

Eddy smiled, drifting into peaceful sleep.

**Author's Notes: **I gotta say, this is one of the proudest things I've ever written. And fun too! Eddy gets his first taste of weirdness (not Courage weird, mind you, just something a bit out of the ordinary), showing him that no matter how normal the task might seem, it always ends up as some frightening adventure, which I'm sure Ed will enjoy.

Now before anyone says anything, there was no use of drugs in this chapter. Incense are perfectly safe, to my knowledge, and they fit well into this chapter. Expect to see more of the kids parents soon and especially some good characterization of Eddy's folks as they'll be important secondary characters. Well, I hope you enjoyed and always, please R&R. TTFN!


	3. Prologue 3

**Author's Notes: **Hello again, fair readers! Been awhile hasn't it? Well, I'm trying to do better with my writing and I redid this chapter a few times before it came out the way I liked it. Anyway, enjoy and please R&R! (That's 'Read and Review' for those who didn't know it).

Courageous Ed

Chapter 3: Strange Arrivals, Stranger People

Eddy woke up feeling happy. Well, maybe not so much happy as he was satisfied to put the events of yesterday behind him. Yawning loudly, he sat up to find a mound of fuchsia fur on his chest. His anger was back with a vengeance and he had half a mind to introduce the canine to his not-so-forgiving floor. But, then that annoying feeling in the back of his head, that stupid thing Double D called his 'Superego' or whatever, urged against it. He sighed irritably and waited for the dog to awaken.

_It's actually pretty good, _Eddy thought, referring to the warm feeling he felt wafting off the dog. With that thought, his dog woke up. He groaned wearily and stretched himself, joints cracking and snapping away stiffness. His gaze met his master's and he smiled and gently wagged his tail.

"Finally." Eddy groaned in mock-annoyance "And you were complaining about _me _sleeping in?"

"Sorry." Courage said with a yawn "Kinda got tired from yesterday, you know with the…"

"Don't mention it…seriously, don't." Eddy was still trying to put that day into mental repression.

_Let my therapist figure it out, _the new teen thought with a shrug and went about getting ready. Ten minutes later, both he and Courage were ready and out the door.

CCC

Nine fifteen. _Dear Lord, I'm late! _Eddward thought as he was now rushing through his morning protocol. He got out of bed as quickly as possible without ruffling the sheets too badly, then grabbed his personal cleaning items and made a dash for the shower, emerging in a gasping heap as his normally ten minute shower was cut in half. He had to skip his recreational reading entirely and then nearly missed his carefully balanced breakfast of cereal and citrus, part of a balanced breakfast. He had just finished his last bite of juicy goodness before the doorbell rang.

"Morning, Eddy. Courage." He greeted the two with a smile and a nod.

"You alright, Sock head?" Despite his friends seemingly upkeep appearance, he noticed that it looked slightly messier, as if he'd been rushing.

"I'm fine, Eddy. I simply lost sleep because of a slight…_disorganization_ of my personal items." The smart lad sincerely didn't want to have to explain that he had suddenly awoke to a room in chaos and had spent the better part of three-hours reorganizing.

Luckily for him, Eddy couldn't have cared less. Beckoning him, they made a beeline for Ed's house. Upon their arrival, their favorite lump was hurled out of the house and narrowly missed the Eds, instead landing head-first on the canine.

"And stay out until I finish my room or I'M TELLING MOM!" An irate Sarah proclaimed before slamming the door shut tight.

The two turned their attention to Ed, dizzily sitting up with a now ruffled and dazed Courage atop his buzz cut.

"Aw, my new fuzzy buddy wants ta be a hat!" Ed said in a cooing voice before plucking the dog from his head "Sorry, but I like my head just is!"

Double D wore a worried expression while Eddy's held only a glint of concern as they looked at the dog. The boy was going to pull out his first-aid kit when the dog shook his body in the signature canine fashion. When he was finished, his fur was as smooth and sleek as it always had been before.

"Intriguing." The boy mused thoughtfully as a dozen theories ran through his head

"Alright, guys." Eddy simply dismissed the happening and decided to get back to the topic at hand "Enough horsing around. Time to get scamming!"

Double D sighed. It was about this time that Eddy came up with his infamous scams. With a now routine reflex, he produced a pencil and pad from his hat and started jotting down the materials for today's escapade.

"I'm thinking…bags. No, designer bags! Wait, scratch that, Bag boys! Eds Lumps-for-Hire, for all your carry-on needs!" Eddy proclaimed with a grand waved of his hand.

"Eddy…If I may, I'd like to point out a few flaws in your plan." Double D could've sworn he heard a _'Don't you always?' _but chose to ignore it "First off, what you just described is a bell hop service. Secondly, a more suitable name would need to be assigned as 'Lumps-for-Hire' is far too unprofessional. And lastly, who in the cul-de-sac would even need such a service?"

Before anything could even leave the short Ed's mouth, a loud rumble shook the pavement and rattled their ear drums. Ed's imagination screamed '_Earthquake_!' while Double D tried to discern a more plausible source. Eddy, due to his low center of gravity, made him less stirred by the rumbling and was able to see a gleam in the distance.

"ONE WAY!"

With surprising might, the boy collectively pushed his friends and dog to the side, allowing a red moving truck to fly past. It was soon joined by two more, their roaring engines and horns fracturing the windows and shaking the thoroughly abused eardrums of the foursome. Then, they all together ceased, allowing for a much smaller camouflaged truck to pull into the shaken neighborhood.

Out of the truck stepped a man, somewhere in his mid- to late-thirties wearing a wife beater, which framed his well-developed upper body and army green cargos with tall black combat boots. His hair was a fiery crimson that seemed to be on fire, which contrasted greatly with his deep blue eyes. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a whistle and let out a blaring homage of its namesake.

From the red truck emerged at least two dozen men, all dressed in military uniform and posing at rapt attention. With another whistle, the heavy muscled men took hold of the various items in the truck and began loading it into one of the unoccupied houses.

"Way cool! We're part of a government conspiracy, guys!" Ed stated happily as he gripped the three in an oxygen-depriving headlock.

Of course, Eddy easily countered with his patented uppercut and they crashed to the ground. Rubbing his sore throat, he gave a glance at Courage and noticed that the fuchsias dog was wearing a look of worry.

"What's with you?" Eddy asked

"I…I-I know that guy." The dog's reply was merely whimpers to his companions

"He bad news or something?" Eddy asked with a jab of his thumb

"Or something."

Eddy turned and to his surprise the man had been standing over him. An excuse and a wise crack were having it out in his throat but a kind smile from the man promptly made their fight meaningless.

"Ha ha! Nice to see that the youth of today still have some spunk." The man spoke in a fatherly tone and tussled Eddy's trio of strands

"Spunk? But Eddy doesn't smell that bad." Ed said absentmindedly

"A good sense of humor too!" the man said before breaking into a hearty chuckle

"Um, excuse me, Sir?" the cap wearing Ed was weary of his question, lest he anger the man

"Ah, how rude of me! Guess if you spend time enough out on base, you're sure to get rusty at some things." He said apologetically "My name's Gen. Gen Neral."

"Oh, oh! Are you here to conduct dangerous experiments on wildlife? Or inject us with a serum that'll turn us into super-powered mutates who save the world from aliens?" Ed's eagerness was simply too fast for Edd's politeness

A stern, but at the same time light-hearted look entered his eyes "No, son. I'm not here to do any experiments, studies, or even tests. I'm here because I wanna settle down. Ya know, get a house, a wife, and maybe start a family."

Ed simply started at the man before giving him a dopy 'Okay!' and removed himself from his friend's head. Waving away the vapors that still clung to his hat, he cleared his throat.

"So are you a _real _general or are you just one of those die hard patriots?" Again, his politeness was outmatched by Eddy's rudeness.

"Both, actually. I'm a proud citizen of these United States, although I have served in other countries." He said proudly

"Really?" once again, Eddy had the floor "Where?"

"Oh, let's see…" he placed a hand on his chin and rubbed his bushy, red moustache "I've served in France, Sweden, Scotland, France, Germany, China, and even Australia at one point."

"My, that's an impressive track record." Double D pretty much elbowed his way into the conversation at that point

He would have gone further if the not for the resounding BOOM that echoed throughout the cul-de-sac. Gen's face became one of annoyance and anger, his eyes darting to a man struggling to lift what appeared to be a nineteenth century cannon.

"Careful with that! It's an antique that's been passed down since my great-grandfather, Ab Miral!" he shouted, the man nodding before carefully pacing towards the house.

"Do you have any more of those, um…_antiques_?" Double D hazarded a guess that he did.

"Of course I do! My family has generations of military memorabilia that's been passed from generation-to-generation. In fact, I just brought those I like most. The rest have to be put in a warehouse in the city." He explained with beaming pride.

Double D was on the verge of fainting when the man spotted Courage. The dog whimpered slightly, hoping that the man didn't recognize him.

"Ah, I didn't know you were here!" Well that hope's been dashed.

The man shook the dog's hand firmly, tears forming in his eyes as he applied the vice-like grip. When it was removed, now crinkled and pulsing pain, he blew on it furiously before shaking it back to form.

"Well, I'm glad to see a familiar face down here." The man's roaring chuckle filled the air once more "It's been nice chatting with you boys but I better get back to my things because _someone _has a habit of dropping my antiques."

The sentence and hard gaze was fixated on a single soldier, his face pouring sweat as he tried his darnest not to drop the increasingly heavy mortar. With a quick salute, he scurried off to give the struggling soldier a piece of his mind.

While Double D was breathing a sigh of relief, Eddy simply grinned and rubbed his hands in a greedy motion.

_This can't possibly be good. _The cap wearing lad thought nervously

CCC

_Pain…Vertebra strained…Shoulder dislocated…Hands chafing. _These were Double D's thoughts as he stumbled out of the house after nearly two straight hours of unloading and arranging the general's antiques.

"Curse my poor physical form." He mumbled softly, before said form promptly gave out and fell on the ground

He'd normally be wiping the grass clippings from his red bell hop uniform, but he was simply too tired to care. His neurotic tendencies would just have to deal with it for his body was far too exhausted to even try to care.

"Geez, Gen's gotta lota stuff." Eddy groaned, massaging the crick in his neck

Normally, he'd leave all the leg work to his two friends while he delegated from the sidelines, preferably with a coconut mug and umbrella. But, for some stupid reason, he gave in to Courage's scolding stare and rambling rant on ethics and decided to help out as well. Of course, if he was working, that meant the canine was as well. The fuchsia dog was looking decidingly spent, but he was still in much better shape than the rest of them.

"I was an ottoman guys!" Ed, as usual, proclaimed in his over the top voice

Indeed, the tall Ed had spent the better part of an hour as a comfortable footrest for the war veteran, directing the three's movements between sips of his glass of sparkling cider. Eddy rubbed his bruised neck and dug into his pockets. In hindsight, maybe offering two hours of back-breaking labor for two quarters was a bit, well, stupid, but at least it was one of the few scams they did that had only minor repercussions.

He cracked his neck extensor, feeling a burst of relief before the aching pain returned in full force. He groaned, knowing that he'd need a full home spa treatment to tend to his aches.

"Oh, Bellhops!"

_Crap. _Courage shot him a disapproving look; somehow he just knew Eddy had mental cursed. Now growing quite irked, he turned to face the source of this new voice. His gaze scanned the lanky figure of a brown haired man. His glasses were thin and purple while his long green overcoat and brown slacks flapped in the summer breeze. He even had a large scarf coiled around his neck, its long sleeve flittering behind him. Eddy once again found his conscious and sarcasm having yet another brawl over the use of his vocal chords.

"We are 'Lumps-for-Hire'! You bring it, we move it!" Ed had shouted their brand and slogan boomingly and gave a salute of servitude

"Oh, such nice boys." he clasped his long, stick-like fingers together. "I'm sorry but, I don't have use for your service at the moment."

Eddy finally regained control of his voice "But didn't you just move here? Or are you just visiting or sumthin'?"

Double D quickly scolded him on his rudeness, but the man paid it no heed, a smile forming on his lips "Yes, me and wife just moved here from the city. Our old neighborhood had become quite...uh, _crowded._"

He reached into his pocket and produced a brightly colored and laminated brochure. The cover was a picture of a family of four standing in front of a respectable looking house with a peach acting in place of the sun. The brunette smiled from ear-to-ear.

"Then yesterday, This appeared on my doorstep." he opened the brochure wide, showing various pictures including youths engaged in active play, businesses run by friendly owners, and a large, modern school with a dignified women teaching the attentive class. "After reading it, I just _knew _me and my wife would be happy here."

Eddy snickered. Whoever printed up that pamphlet definitely made it BTE (Before The Eds). It almost made him feel bad that the guy was going to be in for such a rude awakening next time one of their scams went awry.

"Excuse me, sir?" Double D was determined to get a word in edge wise this time "But where is it that you and your wife are staying?"

He asked this out of both concern and curiosity. On the one hand, he was elated that he now had two new neighbors of which to chat with as both seemed to be reasonable gentlemen. On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread because he knew that there was only one other house that had been vacant.

"I live just done lane." The Eds, and for reason Courage, all paled in unison. "Come with me. I'll it to you. If you'll excuse my narcissism, my house is truly the most beautiful in all the cul-de-sac."

Eddy and Edd raised an eyebrow. Was this guy dense or was he just blindly optimistic? They knew the house he spoke of quite well. It was the fabled 'House of the Haunted' as Ed so eloquently put it. The place had an especially prominent connection with the trio of Eds. For it was there, at that dreadful house, that they were mock 'wedded' to the Kankers, force to pull their cart as they were made fools of in front of the entire cul-de-sac, and subjugated to the worst reception in known history.

As they rounded the corner, they stopped cold in their tracks. In front of them wasn't an old, decrepit house that had been victim to the abusive hand of Mother Nature. They did not see a field of weeds and dandelions or the tricycle that had been captured and left to rot. No. What they saw was a beautiful, three stories Victorian-Era abode that was dressed in the most luscious shade of pink. Windows were glared with perfection in chorus with their brilliantly dapper window sills that held the most gorgeous arrangement of flowers they'd ever seen. There was also a lawn, freshly clipped and weeded, with a swing woven into a majestic oak that towered into the heavens.

"…Wow…" No other words could quite come close to describing the beauty of the structure before them. Even Double D's extensive vocabulary failed him, his mouth agape as he stared in awe at the house before him.

"Breath-taking, isn't she?" the man dreamily clasped his hands together, his brow lowering in an arch. "Oh, how rude of me. I didn't even introduce myself. I am Dr. Gerhart."

Something inside Double D's head flickered on at the utterance of the suffix 'Dr.' "Incredible! A real doctor, in our own cul-de-sac! I can't tell you how many questions I have for you! Where did you study? When did you get your degree? Do you have a Master's? Are you taking an intern? Do you write recommendations? Because if so, I have plenty of things I wish to-"

Eddy grabbed the smart Ed's rambling mouth and tossed him aside. This always happened whenever something scientific came into play. It only took the mention of the word doctor to turn mild-mannered Eddward into a hyper-crazed fan boy. The fuchsia canine raised a brow and looked at his master. The boy shrugged; he himself had no idea how he could make such a complete metamorphous.

"Well, would you look at that." The man glanced down at the watch "Time to dust the bedrooms and scrub the bath. Good day, boys!"

With yet another confused unified stare, the Eds shrugged and walked back down the lane.

(-x-)

Today had been an arguably successful one. Gen had caught up with them later, digging into his pocket and handing them each a ten dollar bill. Eddy's resulting shout of jubilations had shaken the entirety of the cul-de-sac and beyond. He had even dared to defy gravity and caught at least a whold ten seconds before coming down to earth. The general had felt quite bad for giving them only a meager sum for all their hard work. Of course, his explanation was lost as Eddy was too caught up with the gorgeous greenback in his palms.

After dashing to the candy store and buying some very satisfying Jawbreakers (he even bought one for Courage, which was strangely gravy flavored), the Eds parted ways for the evening. At that point, the young lads was far too exhausted to continue with their high-profile shenanigans.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Courage asked as they neared his master's abode.

"Beats me." He responded with a shrug "Guess I'll read some comics or sumthin'. Maybe even listen to a few records."

Courage gave a memorable grin. The husband of his previous mistress had been a very dislikable and cruel man (to him especially) but, he always seemed to calm down and mellow out when he was listening to his old records. The dog dared to even hazarded he had superb taste in music. The fact that the newly turned teenager even had a record player and actually listened to them said quite a bit about his character.

Courage's trip down memory lane abruptly smashed into a reinforced steel wall. With an Oomph! he fell to the ground and wondered why the boy had stopped so suddenly. He gazed over his side and mirrored his owner's look of confusion. In front of the duo was a cardboard box, sitting at the foot of Eddy's door, taped neatly with a small address in black print.

'To: 125 Peach Creek Cul-De-Sac.

From: Your Aunt Muriel'

The short lad looked at the address than the package and back again. His Aunt had sent him _another _gift? Not that he ungrateful, or that he didn't want it, but he couldn't help but feel yet another trickle of dread wash over him. He shook his head and shrugged. A gift is a gift after all.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." The canine received a quizzical stare from the slightly taller boy "An old saying."

Not wanting to pursue it any further, he gripped the box and attempted to lift it up.

The resounding SNAP! As his lower vertebra systematically crumpled one after the other told him two things: First that he forgot to lift with his legs and second that this thing was heavy. Snapping his spine back in some semblance of shape, he decided to push the package along instead. Of course, this approach didn't fare much better but with the added help of Courage, the two managed to get the box inside. After thanking whatever force had decided to leave it on the doorstep, the Ed's curiosity urged him to open the box.

As he did, his smile widen as he dug out the first of its contents. The moment Courage saw it, his fur and features turned ghost white. In Eddy's hands was a computer monitor dim and dull from disuse and deactivation. The boy seemingly ignored his reaction and eagerly set about setting up the electronic wonder. A computer was something the boy had wanted ever since his brother had returned with his own three summers ago. He had berated his elder sibling endlessly about every aspect of the device. _Maybe later, half-pint_ was his response and the smaller brother had to reluctantly agree. Now, he had his own and he knew it had to be at least a hundred times better than his brother's.

"Hey…um, where does all this stuff go?" Eddy was tangled up in wires and cords, completely lost as to what do first.

Courage sighed and gripped a section of the bundles in his paw and with a tug, sent the short teen into a spin, untangling him and giving him a douse of dizziness accompanied by nausea. He shook his head, pushed down bile and was ready to berate the creature, but sopped as he saw him attaching and reattaching wires. It was surely a sight, and quite a laughable one at that, watching as the pet showed more technical know-how than his master. When he was done, the dog found a chair and hopped into it, using it to gain the few inches of height needed to turn on the monitor.

The sight of the azure screen lighting up was like a beckon to the greedy Ed and with little remorse, he shoved Courage out the chair and onto the floor. His eyes lit up with a happiness that was normally reserved for Ed, even chanting an 'Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!' as he waited. When nothing happened, he pressed a key.

Nothing, so he pressed another.

Nothing still, so he pressed yet another.

Yet again the screen showed nothing and his patience had started to wan as he now started typing full words.

As another few seconds passed, he had forgone any bit of patience he might've had left and went about typing a flurry of words on the keyboard. The sheer force had caused the plastic hardware to shake and rattle violently as he continued to write in rage.

"_Would you mind typing a bit slower, you ninny?" _

Eddy's tirade stopped as he suddenly stared at the screen; the appearance of large, yellow print and the British-accent had caught him completely off guard.

"_And before you ask, yes: I did speak. Much more fluently then you ever could."_

The curiosity he might've held about the computer died went he heard it utter…erm, type those words. He may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knew from experience and being around Double D that those words were what most people commonly referred to as insults.

"You got somethin' ta say ta me?" he jabbed his finger against the screen as if it were the computer's chest.

"_My word, it seems your vocabulary is even more deteriorated than the Twit's." _

Okay, now he _knew _he was insulting him. He growled threateningly and only the presence of Courage's paw against his chest prevented him from bringing force his whole wrath on the hated device. He typed a few words on the keyboard, a look of annoyance on his face.

"_Oh! It's you, twit. I'd recognize your sloppy keying anywhere."_

Annoyance turned to downright resentment as he typed in another set of words.

"_Oh, so this simpleton is your new master? I'd think he was related to the farmer than the round woman."_

Eddy had expected Courage to give the computer a very hatful look, but instead he gave a knowing smile. Typing in another series of strokes, the screen suddenly filled with words.

"_No…No, not that…Don't you daaarrreee…"_

The fuchsia dog buffed his knuckles and smiled "Off switch." "Ya gotta love it." Eddy finished for him before stepping down from the chair to make dinner.

Afterwards, he and his pet enjoyed a few blissful hours of smooth jazz, pop rock, and even a classical symphony (which the boy strictly forbade him from telling anyone) before washing up and preparing for bed. Courage took up his spot next to his master, you was currently restless. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, he wasn't going to like the coming days ahead. The thought passed quickly, however, and he drifted back to sleep.

**Author's Notes: **Finally, I'm done with the Prologue! You read right, these past three chapters have been the prologue to CE and the next chapter marks the first real chapter of the story. I've planned to do an episode worth of Courage in each chapter, with a few two-parters here and there, so I really don't know how long this story will last but be prepared for some good times.

Kudos to those who caught the pun in Gen's name and speaking of which, since he was never named in the series, I just used the name they gave him…with a little creative license. Kudos also to those who remember just who the good doctor is and what episode their from along with his 'wife'. And finally, the computer. How could I possibly have Courage paired with Eddy and _not _give him the computer? Given how sarcastic he is (I'm only making this assumption based on his voice) , I'd think people would get a kick out of watching them interact with each other.

Not much else but expect a chapter sooner than you think. TTFN!


	4. Strange Summer Episode 1

**Author's No-tes: **Finally...with much, bravo and fanfare...I give to you faithful readers...An UPDATE!

*Cue jubilee music and cartwheeling jester and belly dancers * With that craziness out of the way, let's get down to business. From now on, this and Entirely Probably are the two main stories I'll be focused on at the moment. Sorry CU fans. *frowny face* This way, I'll be able to get back into the swing of things after so long.

So, we have four seasons, the first of which is Strange Summer. In this part, our hero Eddy gets ducked head first into the realm of strange, horrifying, and completely weird world that is Courage the Cowardly Dog. More new neighbors arrive and increasingly strange people seem heck-bent on trying to kill him and his dog. And why does his Aunt have to do with all this?

Let's get to it.

Courageous Ed

Strange Summer

Chapter 4: Night of the Were-Ed

Not many people could say that they had the pleasure of meeting Amsterdam. As a resident of the blue haired young man Rolf's farm, he received very few visitors outside of his keeper and his next of kin. But there were one or two who knew of him and could tell you the basics. He was a furry thing for one with silvery white fur inherited from his mother and big, blue eyes that shone like sapphire gems. He was also a bit on the plump side, daily rations of high-energy snacks and a domestic lifestyle had molded him into an adorable ball of fluff and fur that had even the stoniest of hearts swooning with heartfelt 'Awww!'. He often attributed this to the reason why he hadn't been sent to Nano's (Ye Great Ol' Bag as the animals liked to call her) kitchen where they were to be supper for that evening.

But what truly separated him as a noteworthy addition to anyone's home, was the fact that he had an unflappable sense of perception. It was always easy to spot, the signs of ill-tides coming. He'd twitch his whisker lopsidedly, his tail would fluff out like static, and his foot would tap out a rhythm. It had been this trait that had saved many a furry resident's hide from predators both feral and man alike.

But tonight was different.

The moon was half full, tilting to its side with stray clouds casting dark shadows across the land. The rabbit huddled into the corner of his cage, foot tapping lightly. Something was coming, it was in the air; a foul scent that wrinkled his wet nose. His ears stood alert as the long, slender ears of his species stood up. His eyes scanned frantically across the field and noticed a peculiar site. A row of freshly dug dirt was tearing through the newly laid vegetation.

Heading straight for his pin.

The ball of fluff scooted back harder into the corner, trying to make himself as small as possible in hopes of avoiding it. The dirt kept plowing forward; his eyes shrank into pinpricks and his foot started whacking the ground like a jackhammer. The moving earth came within inches...

...before turning and heading to another rabbit pin.

The mammal stared in the direction the terror had fled and slowly ease back into his normally relaxed state.

A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the night.

Amsterdam's foot broke the floor.

CC

Eddy had a new enemy and its fiendish, maliciously devious tactics were the stuff of nightmares: his alarm clock.

The wrenched device had woken him from a sound sleep and magnificent dream and being in a rather grumpy mood, had slammed the clock off the nightstand. It then flew into the wall, ricocheted an impossible number of times and then exacted revenge by ramming him into Courage and sending both into a heap on the floor.

The teen had cursed the thing to no end and it was only through the workings of Courage's cooking did he finally relent his rage. He seriously needed to talk to the canine about getting recipes; that Double Chocolate Chip Waffle with Crème was divine. Afterwards, it was business as usual, which meant that he quickly went through his morning routines before slipping on his signature attire, grabbing Courage, and leaving in search of his friends.

The morning was cloudy. A thick blanket of cumulus hugged tightly together and shrouded the area with a filtered view of the sun's glow. A cool breeze drifted lazily across the near barren residential streets. The only familiar face out was Johnny and he was racing towards the house of the blue haired farm boy.

"Something's not right about this," Courage muttered to his owner "or my name's Susie Santos...and its not."

"Yeah, it's a ghost town around here." he catch the site of a dingy white t-shirt swooping behind Rolf's abode "Let's follow Nature-boy, see what's up."

The two walked briskly across the street and around the dwelling, as the owners had no quells with visitors popping in at any and all times. What they saw when they approached was startling.

Rolf, son of a Shepard and man among young men, was sobbing loudly, crouched over a fallen mess of white boards with the entire cul-de-sac circled around him. Even Gen and Dr. Gerhart were there, the latter offering support along with Nazz and Double D. The short boy and his dog walked slowly towards the scene, both unsure of what to make of the situation. He was so enraptured by the sight that he didn't notice the red cap wearing lad until he bumped into him.

"What're you doin' here, dork?" the boy asked with a scowl

"To see what's happenin', Shovel-Chin." he scowled right back, tugging slightly of Courage's leash "And you better pipe down or my dog'll rip that look off you're face."

The taller boy peered over Eddy and saw the sight of Courage, huddled against the boy's leg and looking back at him, shaking.

He laughed "Ha-ha-ha! You call that wimpy thing a dog?! Might as well be a leg-warmer, looks like that's all he's go at!"

The quip had managed to incite the ire of both owner and canine and both were growing quite angry with the rude boy. Before they could reply, they were silenced by a grieving Rolf.

"Quiet, you bickering, sniveling good-for-nothings! Cannot see that Rolf is trying to properly grieve the loss of his livestock?!" The shout followed by yet another high-pitched cry as he returned to his sorrow.

Kevin gave Eddy a glare before marching past him, making sure to bump him, and settled next to the blond beauty. Eddy slightly fumed over the blatant insult to injury and was prevented from retaliating only through sheer force of will and the threat of what might befall him if he should interrupt again. He decided to take a spot next to Double-D, who was still consoling the boy.

"So what's up?"

"Rolf lost an entire pin of rabbits last night, Eddy." Double D explained over the tortured yells "From what Rolf's told us, he had come out to feed his animals when he found it like this. From the claw marks and indention, I'd wager it was some feral beast of some kind. Most likely half-starved when it came upon the helpless rodents." his eyes looked sadly at the broken pin, the thought of all those animals...gone

"Wahh!" Eddy jumped and and found himself in one of the most crushing bear hugs he'd ever received "All the poor little bunnies, Eddy!"

Eddy was struggling for air and flailing his legs in trying to escape the gloomy giant, but it was fruitless. Courage tried to help, but found that his strength was not enough to pull his master away from the tightly squeezed arms. The sounds of the teen's spine cracking were the line and with a burst of herculean might, he pried his arm free and uppercutted himself free to the ground.

"I don't see why you're so worked up. You can't get two feet close to them without breaking out and blowin' up like a blimp." Eddy reminded him of the lesson of previous incidents "So when can we get outta here and go? I wanna get some scammin' in before lunch."

The hat wearing lad gapped, appalled "Eddy! How could you even _think _of committing a scam when our friend is in mourning over his-"

A hand shot up and grabbed his skinny wrist "The time for mourning was past! Now Rolf must prepare a meal for his Elders as they have grown quite hungry by now." With that, the tears that had stained his face were gone, and the boy was suddenly upbeat and cheerfully humming to himself as he marched back into his house.

"Fine lad, that one." Gen said as he brushed dirt from his blue collared shirt "Grieves and then moves on with his duties."

"But what about the bunnies, guys?!" Ed cried, looking over at the two remaining wire wood shacks

"Ed raises a valid point. From this attack, we can only assume it will return until its had its fill with the rest of Rolf's livestock. And that can't be allowed. What Rolf needs to do is hire some Pest-control service, someone to handle any future threats that might occur to...his...animals-" The smart Ed stopped his thought process as he saw the smile that was slowly spreading across Eddy's face along with the green dollar signs that were forming from his pupils

"Curse my helpfulness." Edd rued before being dragged along by his shorter friend

CCC

The night was dark.

Lit only by the faint glow of the moon, the street lamps offered further illumination and shelter from the bleakness. People were all snug in their homes, surrounded by the safety and security granted to them by the four, sturdy walls. In a certain farmer's backyard, however, a small group were not indoors.

Double-D sorely wished that he was inside of his bedroom, wrapped beneath the warm sheets instead of out in the cool, suspenseful night air. The handmade suit constructed from hand-me-down kitchen wear, old safety vests, and parts of his uncle's jumpsuit did little to ease his frazzled nerves and butterfly stomach.

"Come out and meet your maker, Spawn of the Nighmar-a-verse!" Ed shouted in his orange jumper with torn sleeves, allowing his own stripped ones to show "I, Igor, Hunter of Evil, have at thee!"

Eddy groaned, adjusting the sash around his chest loaded with kitchen utensils and condiments. A belt had been tightly around his forehead and the tails flapped lightly in the breeze. His dog stood next to him, faithfully gripping his leg and trembling in fear. He rolled his eyes at the dog's cowardice.

"Man up, man." the short Ed quipped as he shook the canine from his person "Look it's an easy gig. We stand out here for a another hour, shoot up some random target, and then get paid and buy ourselves some jawbreakers!"

His mouth was already salivating heavily and his eyes had over in a state of bliss.

Courage sighed.

He had relinquished his hold of the boy's leg, but still found himself shaking as chills ran constantly down his spine. There was something about this whole situation that seemed entirely too familiar. From the position of the moon, to the area it occurred, to the targets...the targets...

"Oh, no." he whispered to himself as realization dawned on him

His feet quickly carried him back towards his master; if this was anything like it had been last time, then he had to make sure that the short boy was _nowhere _close to it. He had made it just inches from the stout figure before an ear-piercing scream ripped through the air.

"DOUBLE-D!" came the voice of Ed, heard over the anguished yowl

CCC

His hearing was the first thing to tune into his surroundings after his lap in consciousness.

He noticed that his eardrums were working surprisingly well, hearing the soft thuds on the carpeted floor before them even entered the room. He also became aware that his sense of smell had become quite acute, as it was brutally assaulted with the odorous vapors of that were a cross between a month-old dead fish, fermented curdled dairy, and musky, week-old gym socks.

"Double-D's awake, guy!" the over-joyous voice could only have belonged to the tall, dim-witted Ed

"Bout time, Sock-head." callous, sarcastic, and barely noticable relief: definitely Eddy "We had ta skip outta gettin' paid because of yo-"

The abrupt silence had led the boy to force his arching optical nerves to work as his vision was flood by bright light. It took a far longer time to dim than he knew was normal, but he shrugged it off and put his hands to work massaging his aching temples. _Good Lord, _he thought to himself _It feels like I've been by a bat while trying calculate pi to the thirtieth digit. _He would know, he'd tried it already.

Groaning as his head resisted the awkward movement, he saw the shocked faces of his friends, all staring at someone that seemed to be on his person. Slowly, his gaze shifted until it finally came upon the object in question.

His left leg, his entire left leg, was swollen like an overstuffed sausage. Which meant that his shriek of horror was to be expected.

Ed's face loosed at that moment and it swiftly formed into the widest grin he could muster "Way cool! Double-D's turning into a mutant giant, guys! Oh, oh, when you're big, can you promise to take me on a ride, Double-D? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

The short teen leader of the trio ended the insistent rambling before it could destroy anymore of his beloved brain cells with a sharp slap to the face. He cupped his chin thoughtful as he looked at the swollen appendage, testing it with a poke of his finger. The cap-wearing Ed skidded backwards and away from the offending digit, surprised by the fact he could move his grossly blown limb.

"Look, I don't know what or how this happened, but this thing better be under control by tomorrow because I have a fool-proof scam for tomorrow and I'm not about ta let you and this...weird bloating problem get in the way." he scooped up his dog and downed lackey and headed for the door "And have a good nights sleep."

The door slammed shut and Double D was left alone to tend to his afflicted body himself.

CCC

Eddy shifted uncomfortably in the big, purple suave arm chair while Courage was resting on the foot stool, as his owner was too short to make any significant use of it. The Eds were currently residing in their lummox friend's abode, which was today's base-of-operations. The scam, which had involved selling the local kids a knock-offish version of a race car that would be manufactured from old, reusable materials found in their garage, had been a good one and had at least a slight chance of actually succeeding.

But the lanky inventor Edd had never shown up.

Instead, he had been MIA for most of the morning and afternoon, opting to staying at home for fear of 'spreading contaminant agents', a word that was lost on his of-lesser-intellect friends. Ed had offered his own misguided interpretation but was quickly struck down via way of a remote to the side of face. The short Ed nestled deeper into the chair only to slip and fumble to the floor, where he groaned in aggravation.

"Stupid Sockhead." Eddy found himself muttering a scant two hours later, tugging a bit to forcibly on Courage's leash "Perfect scam and he bails for 'Contamuates'."

"Don't be to hard on the guy," Courage was doing his best to keep up with his surprisingly swift master "He had real bad leg yesterday. And that's the least of our problems."

"Our problems?" Eddy had stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around to stare at the boy "Last I checked, Sockhead's the one with the bum leg."

"A bum leg that's only the first sign of WereMole-ism." the dog had taken to his hind legs, erecting himself to fully convey the gravity of the situation they were in. Eddy gave him a puzzled look, staring as if the dog had just told him the moon was made of purple mince meat and was plotting to overthrow the earth. "

"Were-What?" Courage groaned, rubbing his temples slightly "WereMole-ism is like Werewolf but with a Mole instead. And we have to-"

CRUSH! CRUNCH! AIEEEHHHH!

The noise had sounded so loudly, Eddy felt his ear drums strain painful as they struggled not to burst from the unbelievably loud sound. Both owner and pet looked at each other before wordlessly agreeing to investigate. Using the dog's superior (and still working) hearing, they pinpointed the source of the ruckus at…Rolf's farm.

When they arrived, they were both surprised and grimly expecting to see the sight before them. Splintered wood, chicken wire that seemed to ripe apart, and tuffs of sundry shades of fur were scattered about the area. The remaining pieces of another demolished rabbit pen.

Once again, Rolf was hunched over the wreckage, this time joined by a tall, leanly build woman with Rolf's pigment and dark violet colored hair. A smocked covered the majority of what looked like a house dress and it was splattered with darkened stains of what both were hoping was used ketchup. The woman turned, taking in the sight of the two and gave a sad frown.

"Well?" her voice sounded just as thick with accent as Rolf "Have you've enjoyed it? Have you enjoyed watching my family suffer? Standing there, watching as my son mourns the death of another stock of rabbits?"

Eddy took a step back; this woman terrified him from her voice alone "Whoa there, lady-I mean Miss-I mean Sir!-no, wait! I was just comin' over at help-"

"Help?!" the boy's frantic tongue tripping only seemed to further the foreigner's anger "Help?! If this were a respectable village, you'd have already gathered into a hunting party and captured this monstrosity! But have you done this? No! You stand and gawk, wide-eyed and helpless like a litter of mewling cubs! If you so genuinely want to help, than stop this! And if you shall not, I will see to it that your gallbladder be relieved of one and made the main dish of our FEAST OF RETRIBUTION!"

Eddy had found himself backing down the entirety of the larger, stronger, and considerably more intimidating woman rant and had somehow wounded up in the woman's grasp, scrambling at his shirt for fear of falling. When she had questioned him again, he could only shake his head dumbly and plummet to the ground. From there, he scooped up the fiercely shaking dog and bolted as fast as possible from the farm dwelling.

CCC

Double D's house had been his natural first stop.

He needed some kind of wickedly clever trap if he wanted to catch this mystery thief and Edd was the only one in the entire cul-de-sac deemed qualified enough to do it. His fist banged on the door as if the devil were on his heels and the door was that leading to salvation. Nerves still frazzled and his other arm clutching the dog tightly, his hits only became louder as they impacted against the aged wood.

"Open up, Double D!" Bang. "Com' on!" Bang. "It's an Emergency!" BANG. BANG. BANG.

After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the sweet sound of locks unlocking; knobs turning. The hinges creaked as the door opened slowly and the teen felt as though an eon had pasted before his friend finally appeared in the doorway.

He looked awful. His face was pale. Every pore an his weak and wobbly body was leaking streams of sweat. His clothes were hanging off him haphazardly, as if he couldn't summon the strength to properly fix them onto his form. Even his prized cap was leaned slightly to the side, drooping into the boy's left eye. It was enough make Eddy take a step back in shock. Even at his absolute lowest the neat-freak had never allowed himself to look like this.

"Oh…Hello, Eddy. Courage." his voice croaked, as if every word were a struggle to form and congregate into coherent speech "I'm sorry, but I'm feeling a tad…under the weather…"

"Whatever." Eddy had seemingly gotten over his friend's appearance "Listen Sockhead, you've gotta come with me at round up Ed so's we can-"

The boy had grabbed his friend by the shoulder and heaved him out of the doorframe. Or at least tried to. The lad's eyes became as big as saucers as he felt his grip meet resistance before slipping into thin air. He turned back, shocked, and saw that the sickly boy was still standing. His friend had never been able to do that, much less in his current enfeebled position.

At that moment, he staggered. He gripped his midsection, a fierce aching overtaking him. He spun, hobbling his way further into the house's depths. The teen and dog stepped closer, passing through the doorway to see the boy fall to the floor, a quivering jumble of spasmodic jerks. A stab of worry wormed its way into chest and he unknowingly took another step forward. He reached out for his friend with a slightly shaking hand.

"Double D?"

Slowly, the boy stood. But as he did, the boy noticed something…strange about him. He could see his form getting bigger, the tearing of his clothes as they stretched and ripped, and heard his pained breathing morphing into a guttural growl.

"Double D?" Eddy's voice wavered and his footsteps halted and faltered

The boy gave what could only be described as a howl before literally plunging into the floorboards, leaving behind a shell-shocked Eddy and Courage and the faint sounds of digging.

CCC

Ed wasn't scared of much.

His baby sister topped the phobia charts without competition. Next came soap and other cleanliness products of doom, and Finally, most terrifyingly, mole mutants. He had always kept himself safe; rolling around in rotten banana peels and stale buns and keeping a constant light source running had been his primary defenses against the scourge of the underground. But for all his preparedness, he was completely blind-sided by this latest news bulletin: Double D had been turned.

The thought of his friend donning the cursed pelt of mole fur was enough to make him tear up in sadness. It should've been him! It should've been anyone except his friend! Anyone!

But no. It had been him to be possessed and turned. And now they had to stop him. Stop him from harming the innocent bunny rabbits like he'd done before. His throat knotted up and he swallowed the great lump. He needed to be strong. He had to be strong or else the bunnies would perish.

Eddy had gathered him plus a few others: Rolf (who was raring to have at the mongrel), Mr. Neral (who volunteered his years of military expertise), Dr. Gehart (who insisted he join for he believed he could help), Johnny (who wanted to make sure they didn't do anything to drastic to the creature), Nazz (who volunteered and caused all the boys to swoon despite the situation), and Kevin (who joined simply because he thought the 'dork' would screw it up). They had all gathered in the son of a Sheppard's farm, wearing quickly assembled armor from Gen's personal collection as well as kitchenware.

"Man, your place gets real creepy at night, Rolf." Kevin had tilted his cap up in order to peer out into the thoroughly frightening atmosphere that had enveloped the normally hectic farmyard.

"I agree." the musical doctor tugged his scarf tighter around his neck "It's certainly has me in chills."

"Quit with your aching belly, Mr. Doctor Sir." Rolf was standing at point, refusing to budge an inch in anticipation of the beast's arrival "We must be silent and visual if we are to catch this vandal."

Ed gulped once more. Why hadn't anyone believed him and Eddy when they told him about the Mole Mutant Curse? Were they so blind that they couldn't see the completely plausible hypothesis when presented before them? The tall Ed tethered restlessly on his heels, sending this loose and bulky armor into a cacophony of clatters. His eyes darted about and finally came to rest on a lone rabbit in its cage. The sight of the fluffy creature made his nervous tweets slowly peter out.

Then its foot started tapping. Ed stared at it in confusion as it continued to do this, only increasing in speed and force with every passing second.

"Do you have at go outside, Mister Fluffy Bunny?" Ed questioned, leaning in closer

The rabbit continued its thumping until it finally caught the others attention.

"Geez, you wanna shut that guy up, Ed?" Eddy gripped, holding his ears.

"Yeah, the thing's giving me a headache." Kevin complained

"Will you cease your ruckus-making, Amsterdam?! Can you not see Rolf is trying to catch-"

He never finished his sentence for the beast had arrived. It'd shot from the ground in a spray of earth, sending all present swiveling as they all took in its appearance. Unlike many had assumed, it was very human-like. A tattered tropical orange shirt and purple shorts served as clothing for the creature. Its feet and entire body were covered completely by gray hair, every last single inch of them with blank, wide pools of white for eyes. It's ear were pointed slightly and framed by fringes of wild, bright orange hair.

Hair that sprouted from a black cap.

It was then that everyone seemingly stopped breathing. There was only one person in the entire cul-de-sac and beyond that wore such a hat. And the realization that the Eds had been telling the truth only made the situation more surreal. The moment seemed to last forever until the were mole broke it with a blood-curdling howl.

"No way." Kevin breathed at last, pulling up his the bill of his hat

"My word." Gen muttered, inching away from the popgun that was stationed in his pocket

"See! I told you guys, but nooo. Eddy's a liar. He never tells the truth." Eddy seemed a cross between frustrated and satisfied.

And Were Edd pounced, diving into the center of the group and sending them scattering. Kevin had instantly grabbed Nazz and hauled her towards the shed, the blond protesting all the while. Gerhart and Johnny both fumbled with their equipment while Gen and Rolf had already charged with weapons, a pitchfork and cavalry sword, raised high. The wered boy saw their imitate approached and snarled before diving down and drilling a hole.

The two paused, swiftly taking in their surroundings before the were leapt from the ground, sharp, three digit claws at the ready. Gen swung his sword but missed as the were mole bent down and clawed at his face. It was blocked by Rolf's pitchfork and he jabbed at him, only to hit air as he slunk back into the ground seamlessly.

"Ahh!" Gerhart screamed and scrambled into Johnny's arms as the boy's head appeared, growling loudly before ducking away again. The doctor shivered and clung tighter to the boy's massive noggin "Um, Mister G?…You're kinda…choking me…"

The boy appeared again, this time in front of Rolf and dodged into the ground as he stabbed. For nearly an hour this had been their game: he'd pop out, they'd swing, he duck, they'd miss. Rinse and Repeat. Then, the were boy popped up again with his entire body and lunged at Gen's blind side. He saw it, however, swung and was left speechless as the boy grabbed the sword barehanded. He then pulled and sent him careening into a tree with a solid punch to the face.

"You will now face judgement, cursed-to-be-beast Ed boy!" Rolf yelled only for the Ed to grab him by the neck and hail Mary him clear across the worked field, planting him straight in the pig's feeding troth "Just not by…Rolf."

At that point, the remaining members resorted to flailing about, Gerhart screaming bloody murder as Johnny fumbled about on unbalanced footing. Ed was pressed tightly against the cage of the sole remaining rabbit pen that held Amsterdam while Eddy and Courage frantically danced in place.

"We need to get out here!" Courage screamed, pulling forcefully on the Ed's pants leg

"Where a weapon when ya need one!?" he shouted, rummaging through his person as he repeatedly came up empty. Finally, after so much searching, his finger finally wrapped around something solid. With a grin, he fished the object from his pockets and held it to his face.

A yo-yo. The same colorful toy that had sent along with his cowardly dog. He scowled, heat rising in his throat as he prepared to unleash a torrent of insults and possible swears when the fuchsia canine's frantic tugging finally drew his attention to him and his outstretched paw.

Were Edd was coming towards them.

"Aw man!" Eddy yelled and ducked, feeling rather than seeing the furry assailant pass overhead. Grabbing his dog, his feet blurred into a cyclone as he quickly sped down the field. He stole a look behind him and screamed again. Edd had leapt once more; this time with what looked like a large boulder in one hand. With a grunt it was flying, barely missing its target who bellowed almost inhumanly loud.

"I liked it better when he was just a nerd!" Eddy shouted as he swerved away from another rock. Courage was held in his grip, over the shoulder style, and his eyes bugged out of his head brief before he grabbed his owner and flipped him like a flapjack and saved him from being impaled by way of shovel. Eddy, now flat on his back gazed up to see the sky partial obscured by slender shadows. As they drew closer, the shadows faded to reveal themselves as flying farm tools. Sharp, edged, rapidly approaching farm tools.

"Ahh!" once more, Eddy was on his feet and swerving through the falling implements like a madman. Just like his dad would do in traffic after a big sale or whenever he and his mom had a little spat. Courage hung tight to the boy and pointed hurriedly at the toy in his grip.

"Use it!" he yelled, jerking his head back to avoid a rusty rake

"Use it?!" Eddy rolled around javelin that had been aimed at his head "It's a freakin' toy!"

"Just trust me!" Courage yelled and tugged his ear away from its meeting with a pitchfork that appeared to have had a bite taken out of it

Eddy had no idea why he decided to listen to the mutt, but he did and so he drew the yo-yo out onto its string and flung it at a random direction. As the string unfurled, Courage started screaming. Looking up, the boy joined him as improbably; the tractor, which had to be as heavy as a car, was heading right at them. The boy felt a jerk on his finger and he felt himself being dragged to the side, letting the farm vehicle crash harmlessly into the ground.

The boy and dog were pulled through the air before colliding head first with a metal pipe. Shaking his flatten skull round again, the dog hauled the teen up and flashed him a smile.

"Shut up." Eddy replied as he tried to untangle the toy from the metal piece.

"RAWR!"

They turned to see the turned boy leaping away from them and towards the pen, mouth opened wide and drool dripping freely in anticipation of his meal.

SMACK!

"Nuh-uh, Mister Mutant Double D! You can't have fluffy bunnies tonight!" Ed said as he sent his friend tumbling with a tennis racket to the face

Seeing the were stunned, Courage pulled fiercely on the teen's pants leg "We need to get some of his hair!"

"What!? You got some kinda thing fer hair or something?!" Eddy shouted at the dog's incredulous question

"Trust me! This has happened to me before!" he offered, hoping that would provide him with enough reason to listen o him

It only made him more confused, shouting loudly at the dog and pulling themselves face-to-muzzle. As he continued to interrogate the dog, he was made aware of a hand next to his face by way of a dumb-sounding 'Bing!' As both turned they saw that the hand belonged to none other than the big lug himself. And gripped between his fingers were a gray follicle.

Eddy stared at the boy and instead of questioning how he got the sample, let alone how he heard them from all the way across the field, he took it and scrambled to his feet and scanned around for the cursed boy.

"Man, he keeps popping up like some kinda Whack-A-Mole!" Eddy's head was constantly in motion as he caught brief glimpses of his friend's head before it disappeared once more into the ground

He brought his hand to his chin and stroked it in thought "He may be a Were Mole but he's Double D as a Were Mole so…"

Randomly picking a direction, he jabbed his finger out grandiosely and spoke "Hey, look! Its that famous dead writer guy! Will-what's-his-face!"

Courage slapped a paw to his face as the mole boy poked his head out from underground. Eddy quickly wasted no time, ambushing the lad and sending them into a fight cloud of body parts, unintelligible language, and string. When they dispersed, Eddy pulled the rope taunt; drawing the boy up into the hogtied trap. He growled and barked vicious and struggled furiously against his binds. It ended as the dog dropped a hair into his mouth.

Gagging, the lad's movement flared for a moment before his body went slack. It was only after several tense seconds did the boy ease on the rope, allowing the yo-yo string to retract back into place and allow the boy's body to fall to the ground. Slowly, everyone gathered round, either awakening from their forced slumbers or slinging out of their hiding spots. Gerhart was still clutched to Johnny who by now had grown tired of the doctor's wimpy behavior while Kevin guided Nazz back to the group, sporting more than a few sets of fist implants as well as an open palm mark on his cheek.

Their faces twisted into confusion when after several minutes, the boy's body hadn't reverted back to normal. He hadn't changed period. The two Eds and company were quickly becoming concerned when the boy groaned. Everyone back Ed back immediately, Gen and Rolf quick to reach for their weapon in the event the sock wearing Ed attempted to try anything. They all continued to watch as he slowly pulled himself to his knees and turned sluggishly to face them.

The white pools were now black with black pupils and from his throat came a deep, scratchy voice that asked a very simple question "What's going on?"

At that point, Eddy threw his hands into the air and stomped away from the crowd and towards his home.

"It's official: my life's completely weird now."

**Author's Notes:** There you have it! Ohhh, Double D didn't change back, but he appears to be in control now…or is he? The title is from a very good and well-written fan comic trilogy of the same name (look it up, its good!) while the tennis racket to the face is a nod to a particular scene from Yoshermon's exceptional story KevinBound (read it, it's way more coherent and put together than most of my stories!).

Next chapter: Edd comes to terms with his new found abilities while another new face appears in town. Who is this creepy man with the lime green suit? And why does he seem so fixated on Courage? Found out next on another exciting and hopefully though provoking chapter of Courageous Ed! TTFN!


	5. Strange Summer Episode 2

**Author's Notes: **Relatively 1uick update, right? After being inactive for over a year, I feel that this story and its readers deserve to finally have an active story that updates on something of a regular basis. Please note that this chapter almost definitely contains grammatical errors, so please, try to over-look them. So here we are, the second 'episode' of Strange Summer. Here we introduce yet another new character and another figure that terrifies Courage to no end. And Eddy's related to them.

Courageous Ed

Strange Summer

Chapter 5: When Strange Became Freaky

Eddy was beginning to associate mornings with general weirdness.

After all, his birthday party where he had received Courage had started in the morning. As did the strange incense-incident (great, he was trying to repress that), the arrival of the new neighbors and the latest catastrophe that had been the Were-Edd debacle. So, the teen had logically assumed that since all of these things occurred with the early sun than therefore mornings must be cursed for him.

It was bad enough he could no longer sleep in, thanks to his defiant alarm clock that had once more rang unnaturally loud and refused to be struck down until the boy conceded defeat and rose with a series of complaints. He'd cleaned himself and was in the middle of slipping on his clothes for the day, when his mother's voice echoed through the walls.

"Eddy!" her voice boomed "Come downstairs! There's someone I want you to meet!"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm coming!" He'd replied and felt the smoldering heat that was boring in his nap.

"You should talk to your mom better than that." The canine scolded, getting on all fours and shaking himself free from the droplets of water from his bath "She does provide for you and all."

The boy scoffed "As if she's ever home to do anything, but go to her office and sew. Besides, yelling's the only way to get anything done around here."

He pulled down his shirt and headed downstairs, Courage following behind him. As they descended down the steps, Courage got an eyeful of the woman who'd birthed his master. She wasn't skinny as he had envisioned the woman, but wasn't fat either. Pleasantly plump, she fiddled with the white stockings beneath her yellow sun dress, decorated with scenery that perfectly captured a beautiful mid-summer's day. Her hair was a rich hazel and she had styled it into a neat bob, held together by a bright, tulip hair-band. When she saw the pair, she greeted them with a small smile.

"Finally," she breathed and assumed a pose he remembered Muriel wearing many a time when confronting Eustace "I was beginning to think you didn't hear me. Or were ignoring me outright."

Eddy grumbled under his breath and walked into the living room, only to be greeted to a very strange sight. A man, dressed in a dull, olive colored suit with lime green collar with a purple tie hung from his neck sat crossed legs on the couch. His hair and eyebrows were both colored a dull, dirty blonde that stood out against his mocha toned skin. Eyes as green as a field of grass stared hauntingly at him, greeting him with a broad smile.

So absorbed was he by the man's appearance that he didn't even notice Courage cowering behind his leg. The canine's form fidgeted as his nerves fired rapidly in response to his growing fear and anxiety. He had never, in any of his wildest, horrifyingly twisted nightmare riddled dreams, had he expected _him _to show up again.

"Eddy," the sole woman in the room started "this is your cousin Fred. He'll be staying with us for a while. Now I'm off work. See to it he's familiar with the house by the time I get back. Have fun!"

The door slamming against the wooden frame was the only sound that was made for at least five minutes. Eddy simply stood in confusion, mulling over his mother's request in his head while his dog quickly ransacked his brain for the whereabouts of every possible exit. All while Fred sat on the couch. Sitting there. Staring at them.

Eddy finally broke the silence and tension that seemed to be rapidly forming in the room "Sooo…wanna get some breakfast? There's some cereal in the kitchen."

The man said nothing.

Eddy shrugged off his relations apparent weirdness and continued onward to the kitchen. Once there, he set about claiming a set of bowls, two spoons, and a box of one of the milder tasting sugary breakfast item. He eyeballed a fair amount of the multi-colored squares of whole-grain goodness before flooding them over with a larger than normal serving of milk. For Courage, a small mound of bacon-flavored kibble sufficed as his morning sustenance. Once he had everyone taken care of, Eddy dug his spoon into the bowl, sweeping a hearty portion of cereal into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, mulling over the savory tastes before preparing another…

…when he noticed Fred was staring at him.

Slowly, he lowered his head and pulled his spoonful in, chewing slower still. He took another bite, this one even slower than the last. He had made it through another five helpings.

Fred still stared at him with his prying eyes. Eyes of pulsing emerald.

"Uhh…" the Ed allowed his spoon to tilt the contents it held over its brim "you want something?"

Once more, Fred was silent.

By the time he had finished, the teen noticed that he was the only who had. Courage's food had gone largely untouched, his eyes never leaving the owner's relative. Fred's cereal had become wet and soggy, large clumps packing together and coloring the milk a rainbow of artificial colorings. They had moved to the living room and Eddy flicked on his TV, allowing the quiet chatter of _Fishbowl III_ to fill the emptiness of the room.

He glanced to his left and noticed that his dog was still shaking like a leaf in the wind. Heck, he looked even worse than that. Like he'd just met the ghost of some long died adversary and was simply staring him down, hoping that alone would cause him to leave. He looked to his right and Fred was staring at him. Only this time he noticed the frown that was present on his face. A deep, patronizing smile a parent might give their child after they'd acquired a bruise or scrap. It was thoroughly unnerving.

"Has it always been like this?"

Eddy blinked. Then blinked again. He even rubbed his eyes for good measure. Had his cousin actually talked? He was beginning to belief that he was some kind of mute.

"Wha?" that was the only thing voice could articulate as a proper response to the fact that the man had actually said something to him

"Your hair." He insinuated his point by pointing at his three, lone strands with a slim finger "Has it always been only three strands?"

His awe was quickly replaced by a smoldering anger and it took a great effort not to growl at his older cousin "Yeah…since I was a baby. My folks said it'd grow out. Well, its thirteen years later and I still don't have a lot upstairs."

If he had been more observant, he would've noticed the double meaning of the phrase he'd just uttered by under his current influence of rage, it sailed right over his head. At his confession, Eddy noticed the man's frown growing only deeper and he had to call upon that anger management technique his friend had taught him in order to resist the urge to slug the man for giving him such a piteous look.

"I'm sorry to hear that." The genuine tone in his voice alleviated the boy's anger some

Once more, the room was filled with silence.

"So, what's your deal anyway?" Eddy blurted after another few minutes "Why'd you decide to come here anyway?"

"Ah," his face lifted as a smile slowly made itself onto his face "you see I've completed my designated curriculum at my institution and have decided to start anew in different setting. I tried to contact my Aunt Muriel but she was unavailable, strangely. Afterwards, I called my Aunt, your mother, and here I am."

"So you're a doctor or sumthin'?" Eddy asked, brow quirked. He seriously doubted he could deal with another doctor in the neighborhood

"No, no." he chuckled, as if it was a good-natured joke "I'm a barber."

Eddy looked at the man. Did he really think being a barber was more prestigious than being a doctor? When it plain to see who got more fame, chicks, and money? He shook his head, suddenly exhausted with the conversation and turned back to the movie which had by that point been replaced with the opening credits for some B-rated detective noir.

CCC

Double D had a hard time describing the newest development in his life.

Was it terrifying? Absolutely. Did it go against everything modern science had led him to believe? Without a doubt. Make him question his own sanity because of the surrealism of the situation? Of course.

Was it the most exhilarating and intense feeling he'd ever experienced? Yes. Yes to the thousandth power.

When he had regained consciousness those three nights ago, he'd been in a state of limbo, hovering between feeling ungodly sore and ungodly…invigorated. Of course, it all faded once he'd gotten a glimpse of himself and been told of what he'd done while in his semi-humanoid state. When he did, he acted instinctively: he screamed and fainted. The next day, he had returned to normal and since then, he couldn't, wouldn't return to his former form.

And yet he wanted to.

He could sense it. Feel the pure, unrestrained power pulse through his veins and send his mind reeling with those brief recollections of what it had brought him. Strength he'd never known, Agility he'd never be able to achieve, and Speed that he'd never be able to reach. The need to return was nearly over-powering. Every moment his mind was unoccupied, it'd be filled with those thoughts. Whispers of what that power could bring him…and he would feel his will buckle, his morality crumple beneath the enticing lure of such unparalleled might…The urge to shift, to give in, to let go and allow his animalistic Id regain control…

And every time, he'd snap out of it just in time and bury himself in work. Of any kind.

The fact that certain stimuli would only amplify these feeling only made things worse. He couldn't even go past Rolf's farm without his eyes gravitating towards the rabbit pen. His nostrils filling with the scent of fresh meat, eye glazing over as he took those unconscious steps forward. _No! _He'd shout to himself and force his mind back to the world around him. He wouldn't give in to such primal instincts. Even if it became harder each time he pulled away.

CCC

Ed had been happy.

His friend was cured and freed, Eddy wasn't telling him to do stuff when he'd rather be home watching movies, and he was at his sister's beck and call. Everything was great.

Edd would later come to envy at how ignorant his friend was to what happened around him.

CCC

When Rolf's family had received the news that their farm was finally free of the pest that had been terrorizing them, they had proudly declared a feast in their honor.

And their definition of feast vastly different than the rest of the cul-de-sac inhabitants.

Inside the house, a long, wooden table stretched from the front to the back of the room, taking up all space inside. Upon it lied what was perhaps the biggest hog to ever had the privilege to be caught, cooked, and served. It was surrounded by a sea of assorted delicacies ranging from squid that was skewered onto a wooden pike to balls of mucus looking balls of quivering jelly to slabs of green meat with the weirdest looking bone nestled within. At each of the seats rested a cup that was as big as Eddy's forearm, gleaming with gold and stubbed with shining rivets of silver and filled to the brim with a glistening, red drink.

"TO THE BRAVE WARRIORS OF THIS VILLAGE!" Rolf's mother bellowed from the top of her lungs, making nearly everyone present cringe under its volume "You must forgive me for my earlier comment. For now, I see that this village will soon become one of the greatest in all the land! Now eat, my friends, eat and be merry!"

The entirety of the foreign family dug their into their meal, hairy limps ripping and tearing pieces of food before quickly gulping it down with the aid of a healthy swig of the crimson liquid. Slowly, everyone else began eating as well. With the exception Ed (who's stomach could handle even the rigors of decomposing an entire mattress), everyone looked at the spread with wary eyes. Their hands hovered about, unsure of which dish would be safe to eat as many looked to be still alive.

Kevin had picked the food that he was most familiar with, having spent so much time around the blue-haired son-of-a-Sheppard. Dr. Gerhart, Nazz, and Jimmy picked the most inviting items before taking cautionary nibbles. Johnny and Gen both ate whatever was within reach as they've both eaten far worse things, a thought that terrified the others at the table. Eddy and Courage both sampled what they dared but mostly took to drinking the thick drink which slid smooth down their throats. Edd took the biggest piece of meat from the roast and began eating away at it with barely restrained hunger.

"So, Mister whom-I've-Never-Met," Rolf said through a mouthful of squid, pork, and bread "The pain-in-the-neck Ed-boy tells me you are a relative?"

"Yes," Fred said not particularly partaking in his meal "I've recently moved here after completing my curriculum at my former institution."

"What was it you did?" Rolf asked a bit off-handedly

"I'm a barber." Fred replied with a smile

The room broke into a symphony of clanking utensils and meat smacking against wood. The hairy clan all eyed the man with a look of awe and astonishment, as if he were a talking banana amidst a colony of primates. The rest of the table had ceased their meals as well; curious as to why the family had suddenly stopped eating from the man's simple reply.

"You are…a…a barber?" Rolf's mouth hung open, unable to close as he gapped at the Ed's cousin

Fred responded with a nod of his head.

No sooner than he did, everyone from the boy's family all scampered closer and started frantically nick-picking over every, tiny thing about him. His meal was swept up, carried off by a large, elderly woman where she seasoned it and pounded it more thoroughly with a mallet. A tall, broad shouldered man who was almost double Rolf's impressive height adjusted his chair while offering the barber a pelt of fine wolf's fur. Another well-built male presented him with a large axe and swiftly told heroic tales of its history. A thin, short woman lifted an impossibly large barrel and refilled his cup with what she promised was the finest ale their stores could produce.

Everyone stared at the scene before turning their eyes to the short Ed

"Hey, I'm just as surprised as you." He admitted and looked at his dog; he looked at the scene with even more amazement than anyone else.

"If I recall correctly," Which Edd did with his impeccable memory "Rolf once said that barbers were considered the 'Men among men' in this country. If that's the case, than Eddy's cousin must appear to be someone of quite a high station in their culture."

They all turned as one when Rolf's mother had offered up her arm as retribution.

"Gee, ya think?" Kevin and Eddy deadpanned

CCC

Rolf wrung his hands, completely beside himself.

How could they have allowed this to happen? They had served a _barber _the common fare of a hunting party. The moment they'd realized this, they'd been doing everything they could to make up for such a blatant display of disrespect. His father had offered his prized wolf pelt that he'd skin himself from his days of youth, Uncle Fordo gave up his trusted axe which had fell more trees than hairs on Rolf's head, and his sister Isa brought forth a tankard of the family's private stores of ales. He prayed that it would be enough to make up for their transgressions.

His fears only escalated when the revered man declined their gifts. His mother, in a desperate bid to save her family's honor and dignity, offered her favored arm as tribute. Once again he declined. Instead, to their surprise, he praised them on their humble home and quality of their meal. Then he went on to point out the loveliness of his mother's hair.

In their country, such a compliment was among the highest a woman could receive and the husband of that woman would be praised on his fine eye for the fairer sex. The fact that it had come from a barber only made it that much more potent. The strong woman found herself overcome with a wave of dizziness, her knees nearly buckling beneath her feet. The boy caught his mother and set her to her feet and soon, his father and the rest of his family were bombarding him with questions about his work.

The meal that had been near disastrous had been saved and was now alive with mirth as they welcomed the barber formally to their home. After their feast, they ushered their guest into the living room and offered him the biggest, comfiest chair that had been hastily unwrapped and offered his feet support by way of a decorative ottoman. His father was quick to tell tales of his past adventures as a young man while his sister dared to sit closer to the esteemed man, eyes half-lidded and so openly admiring that Rolf could practically see the mountain sprites dancing about her. He doubted the girl would ever catch his attention but if she did…Rolf felt a burst of excitement fill his chest at the thought of a barber in their family.

"You should ask." The boy whirled his head back towards the mountain of man that was his uncle.

"I-I," Rolf stammered, eyes flickering from the barber to his uncle and back again "I can't. Rolf could never be up to the standards of someone of such…esteem."

"You sell yourself short like always, my nephew." The man chuckled, slapping a hand on the lad's shoulder "I am sure that he would be honored to have you."

Rolf met his uncle's gaze "You believe this?"

The man smiled a broken toothy smile "As sure as milk curdles."

With this boost of confidence, the boy turned and puffed out his chest before making his way towards the man. His father's animated chattered abruptly died when he saw how his son approached and his sister snapped her head at him, eyes stern and understanding. Fred simply gave the boy a perplexed expression.

"Mister Baber Sir," he spoke as clearly as possible, ignoring the growing nervous knot in his stomach "I would like to ask to be your apprentice. Would you have me?"

The man placed a finger to his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. Rolf felt his bravo fading as the thought of rejection filled his mind. How would he face his family if such dishonor was bestowed upon him? He erected himself, ready to face whatever answer the man might speak.

"Hmm, I a_m _in need of some assistance for when I restart my shop…" he allowed himself the mull over the thought in his head for a few more seconds "Alright, I accept. You may be my apprentice."

At that moment, Rolf could've sworn his heart burst with joy.

CCC

After his cousin's casual declaration of his profession, the large, brawny clan of blue haired foreigner had all but abandoned them at the massive dinner table. They all sat in near silence, finishing their meal while Ed held one-sided conversation on the most mundane and absurd topics that only someone of Ed's mental faculties could produce. The doctor would nod his head and offer his own opinion between bites whilst everyone else took to finishing their meals.

Once they had done, they all stood to leave…

"HUZZAH!"

…When the joyful cry of Rolf ripped through the home, rattling the building to its foundations and threatening to destroy the group already damaged eardrums. Eddy was the first to recover and was swept into a bone-crushing hug that rivaled that given by the big lug himself. But instead of huge, greasy sleeves that smelt of aged cheese, he was currently being crushed by twin logs of pure muscle that were covered with hair and the scent of sweat and exhilaration.

"Oh, thank you, he-of-noble-blood Ed boy!" the tall boy shouted, increasing his grip "Thank you for bringing your esteemed relations for without whom, Rolf wouldn't have been deemed worthy to become his apprentice!"

The short Ed struggled for air, hands clawing at the impossibly strong arms as his lungs filled with carbon dioxide backup. He would've used his signature uppercut if he a) wasn't afraid it would work and b) that if it did, he'd anger the boy and get another beat down like the last time he'd fought the boy.

"Apprentice?" Ed asked, scratching his none-existent chin "Like those guys in the fancy white rove-thingies that go around banishing demons with holy soda bottles and unpackaged steak?!"

A crowd of blank stares answered him, each wondering how the boy had come to such an inane conclusion at such a startling speed. Double D sighed, shaking his head at his friend's complete lack of knowledge.

"No, Ed." He corrected "An apprentice is someone who studies under a master in order to learn their and later become a master themselves. I didn't know your cousin Fred was looking for an apprentice."

Eddy's response was a garble of incoherent gagging as his legs flailed about in the air, eyes bulging and face rapidly turning shades of violet. He was then suddenly dropped, Rolf having been taken by a fit of laughter just as a large, white feather retreated back in the nothing behind Courage's back.

"Thanks." Eddy managed after several seconds of gulping down the sweet, sweet oxygen as it coated his lungs

"No problem." The dog said with a shrug of his shoulders "What're pets for?"

Eddy opened his mouth to reply with snide and possibly hurtful wisecrack when Rolf sudden appeared before them clad in a strange armor. Grey fur covered his entire upper-body with another animal skin of unknown origin tied to his waist and drooping just above a pair of thick, leather boots. A large, bleached skull belong to some long dead bird of prey sat atop his skull, forming a mask that obscured his mouth and covered his eyes. In his hands was gripped a large, blue and white swordfish with a long, narrow snout.

"Now then," Rolf's voice came out with an airy echo from behind the helmet "Let us go and prove our worth."

CCC

Night had descended quicker than expected upon the cul-de-sac, the street lamps humming to life to illuminate the well-worn walkways.

But they were bare, for the majority of the residents were presently in the thick, ancient woods that bordered the tiny settlement. Dry leaves crunched under their soles, the ground cracked and littered with snares of parasitic weeds that managed to crop to the surface. The trees were surprising empty, only adding to the uneasy atmosphere that the night had created. Even the company of six armed-to-the-gills members of the muscle-bound clan did little to ease their quickly waning nerves.

Double D quickly noted that he had been on more hunting trips in the past week than he been on in his entire twelve-year-old existence. It was easy to link them back to Eddy and his newest canine companion, but he found his mind drifting elsewhere to more important and prominent concerns.

Being in the woods remained him too much of what it was like before. Too be on edge, his guard raised and snapping alert at the slightest shift in the breeze. His muscle went taunt at the mere possibly of nearing danger and he would find himself drifting between nervous teeth-chattering and full-out growling. It was taking everything he had to simply keep himself in check, let alone trying to even being to understand this strange, frightening, and wondrously glorious curse.

"You are nervous." Edd turned, his hand balling into a fist and eyes narrowing instinctively at the sudden voice.

He quickly recognized the man as Fordo, Rolf's uncle and quickly calmed himself with help from a few relaxation techniques he'd taught himself over the past few days to help deal with his violent mood swings. After several seconds and with certainty that the primal feelings had passed, he addressed the man.

"Yes. Being in a forest this large so late at night does have a tendency to fray one's nerves." He had resumed his teeth-chattering, hands briskly rubbing the length of his arms despite the more than warm night air.

"No. You are nervous about something else. Your curse most likely."

The boy's hands froze, as did he as his head peered up at him in complete disbelief. He said nothing, his eyes conveying the message for him.

"My nephew told me of you: He-who-has-been-cursed-by-the-Beast. I can understand your nervousness." He crossed his massive arms, the blow fish mace swinging slowly from his hand.

Edd sighed "I had hoped it would've been behind me after that night, when I changed back to normal…But it's still there. I can feel it: phantom voices in my head, a longing for that past power. I've been able to fight it off so far, but…I can only wonder how long I'll be able to hold out before this-this disease finally consumes me."

Silence fell between the two for a time before the man broke it "Change."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Change." He stated once more, this time stopping and placing a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder "Do not fear this power inside you. Do not fight it. Embrace it. But when you do, hold tight to yourself. Your honor. Your dignity. Remember who you are and who you will be."

Double D said nothing, even as Fordo pulled away his hand and continued along the path with the group. All he could manage was to turn and star at the man and ponder the advice he'd given him.

CCC

"So Stretch's doin' this why?" Eddy asked the large form of Rolf's mother

The woman, clad in a large fur cloak with a flounder slung from her shoulder, looked down at the boy with a small smile "Your esteemed relative has offered my son a chance to prove himself worthy to be his apprentice. As our ways tell us, he must fulfill the task of slaying one of his master enemies in single combat, proving himself fit to become his ward."

Eddy cocked an eyebrow and looked down at his dog, who was wearing a similar expression. Clearly Rolf's family had the weirdest traditions and customs, but why would Fred even agree to let Rolf do something so crazy? And there was still the unsolved reason behind Courage's out-right fear of him. Sure, he was afraid of pretty much anything that moved but his cousin seemed fine enough. So why was the dog so afraid?

"Shush." Rolf's hand shot up, signaling the entire party to halt at once

His eyes swept over the area, scanning the clearing with keen, trained senses. And then, it appeared. From behind the large, jagged rock trees fell to their doom and foliage and stone cracked sinisterly beneath a series of massive, deafening thuds. Jimmy cowered behind Sarah while the good doctor was stationed behind the nature-loving Johnny, who quickly chatted with his best friend about the nature of the noise. Rolf sight narrowed and with a flick of his wrist, the swordfish went flying towards the commotion.

"RAWR!"

The sound brought nearly everyone outside of the hardened, blue-haired clan to their knees, hands held tight to their ears in vain attempt to protect their hearing. A huge figure emerged from the forest: a large, pink bear in a white uniform with Rolf's weapon impaled into its arm. The sight of it elicited a brief moan from Jimmy and Gerhart before they both promptly fainted into the waiting arms of their protectors. Gin retrieve a small revolving pistol concealed within his boot while Eddy fumbled through his pockets in search of the whimsical toy that had saved his life previously.

"There you are, beast." Rolf said calmly and surely "To prove his worth as an apprentice, Rolf shall now vanquish thee in a duel!"

"He can't _possibly _be serious?!"Double D yelled from behind Ed, willing to ignore the oaf powerful odor for guaranteed safety "That _Ursus arctos _is more than twice his size!"

"Ha! You should see the beast we had back home in my youth." Rolf father bellowed with a hearty laugh "Now _those _were some beasts!"

"Enough of this chat-chittering!" Rolf called to the bear "Do you accept?"

The beast let out a deafening roar, blowing back the young lad's mane and sending a rain of spittle and foul wind.

"Very good then." Rolf then leapt forward, swiftly snatching the swordfish from the beast arm and landing into a fighting pose "Have at thee, then!"

As the bear charged, Courage looked up and tugged on his owner's sleeve as a shaking paw pointed frantically at the sky. The boy looked up and noticed that the sky was rapidly transforming as a thick blanket of clouds shrouded the moon and casted a red and blue shade over the landscape. Eddy felt a tremor of terror run up his spine at the familiarity of the scene.

"This is so cool!" Ed shouted, munching from a bowl of popcorn that he'd summoned from nowhere "It's just like the climax of _Guy vs. Man-Beast: the Trilogy of a Sequel_!"

All eyes were glued to the fight before them. Rolf swung his fish in a manner that displayed skill and prowess like they'd never seen from the boy before. The bear roared, bit, and slashed, but his power was useless against the boy's unyielding defense and greater agility. Rolf swung the fish swiftly and the beast shielded its face, anticipating the attack. Several slicing sounds were heard and the beast cringed. It opened an eye and looked down at himself, seeing his form intact. With a feral grin, he lurch forward…

…Only for his white clothes to peel off all at once, leaving him in nothing but the ragged remains of his pants, which were hastily been slashed into a crud set of briefs. A series of uproarious laughter exploded from the group, a few stifling their snickering with hands before breaking down as well. Insulted, the beast dove at Rolf, maw wide and ready to chop down on the boy. He was unfazed and jetted at his opponent and striking out with his weapon.

The sharp snout of the fish poked into the bear's eye and it recoiled in pain, stomping wildly to avert its attention from the pain of its injured eyeball.

"You're a meanie." It whimpered before hobbling off into the distance

"And the deed is done!" Rolf shouted, lifting the swordfish high and signaling his family to break off into thunderous cheers.

"Very well, done." Fred said with a smile, placing a hand on Rolf's shoulder "I know you'll make a fine barber."

A rush of rouge flooded the tall boy's face and he flashed his new mentor a wry smile. Soon, his father had swept him up and onto his shoulders, the group's cheerful shouting and congratulatory cries a parade as they marched back to the cul-de-sac. Only Eddy and Courage had remained, still staring up at the sky, watching as the clouds parted and scattered to the winds. Lying in wait until the next challenge was issued by a member of the strange folk.

"My life just keeps getting weirder." The two said in unison and shared a look

With a shrug, Eddy turned and started back towards home when a gleam caught his attention. His hand wrapped around the object and he held it to the moonlight, eye squinted as he struggled to read the text on the rectangular plastic.

My name is: Teddy

Property of the Home of Freaky Barber, a subsidiary of the Nowhere Institute for the Weridly Mad. If found, please call 555-1234

The teen nearly dropped the card to the ground.

He re-read it a few more times, just to make sure he was reading it correctly.

His cousin Fred was insane. He was an insane, freaky barber who would be living in his house for an undetermined period of time. He gave his dog a look and he saw that his eyes were wide with fright, his form shaking as a series of violent, fearful tremors broke through him. He could only imagine what his cousin had did to his dog.

CCC

Eddy had tossed on his night clothes and head cap quickly, his eyes constantly checking the door, which now had about four more locks including a chain, padlock, and security scanner. He knew he was being paranoid, that his dog's own degraded mental state was wearing off on him, but in this case, he knew it was warranted. He only had the three strands on his head and he didn't want his cousin anywhere near them. Oh, and it's be pretty messed up if he shaved Courage too.

Said dog was currently on his position near the foot of the bed, his eyes also checking the door, waiting in case the barber decided to pay the two a late night visit. Eddy was in the middle of brushing his teeth when the door handle jiggled. The room went deathly quiet, its sole inhabitants staring at the door in dreadful anticipation. Soon, the entire door frame rocked back and forth from the furious prodding on its other side and the Ed quickly procured a solid oak bat from beside his bed, shaking hands at the ready. Then, the door burst open and Courage screamed, latching onto the teen's head.

"Ah, there you are, he-whose-head-is-flat-as-a-footrest." Rolf said cheerfully, covered in his own pale yellow sleep wear and cap "Rolf would simply like to offer his thanks for one introducing me to your esteemed relative. Many pleasant dreams, Ed boy!"

With that the door slammed and the two were left alone.

Eddy groaned and using the bat, pried Courage from his face. The teen rubbed his ear, giving the broken locks of his door an agitated look

"We should replace those." Courage said, climbing back to bed

"Yeah…but now, I'm beat." Eddy replied and yawned loudly

As he made his way to bed, he contemplated his life so far. After turning thirteen, he now had a cowardly, fuchsia colored dog, a Were-Mole for a best friend, a die-hard, retired U.S General and Music loving doctor as neighbors, a psychotic, freaky barber cousin living in their spare room, and Oh! And thanks to some sick, twist of faith, Rolf as well, for the remainder of his time as an apprentice.

Eddy settled to sleep and closed his eyes, groaning over the pitiful state of his life before finally falling to sleep; one hand on Courage and the other the bat.

**Author's Notes: **Okay! What'd you think? I know I kinda hinted at Double D turning into a were-mole again all the way throughout the chapter and he never did. But it'll happen soon, trust me. Rolf's family will become major characters later in the story, specifically his sister and uncle, who has a pretty shady past...

Next time on Courageous Ed, Eddy's life getting even weirder when he and his friends are invited to the city to watch Ed perform on live television! But there seemed to be something fishy about this business…And why's their agent a giant, talking insect? Find out in the next installment of CE. TTFN!


End file.
